Star Fox Redux
by Wolfe DJT
Summary: The Lylat system; once a society of peace and prosperity, now a battleground of chaos and war. With the Cornerian Army pushed back to their last line, the Star Fox Team answer Corneria's call to battle, and set off to combat the enemy, striking back at every stronghold across the Lylat system. A retooling of Star Fox 64.
1. Chapter 0- Introduction

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 0- Introduction

Corneria. The fourth planet of the Lylat system. After generations of peace, troubles began brewing when emergent forces from other planets threatened the stability of the Cornerian government. General H.D. Pepper led the Cornerian Army- along with notably esteemed pilots James F. McCloud and Peppy Hare- against the rising forces. After a seven-year conflict, Pepper and the Cornerian government's chief science officer- Arthur Monkeyvitch- began to set about to prevent war from sparking again. However, Arthur's remarkable intelligence and groundbreaking research into bio-technology saw him descend into the pits of madness, and his attempt to turn the recovering Lylat system into a wasteland of chaos and destruction. Confronting his once trusted friend, Pepper successfully had Monkeyvitch arrested and exiled to the barren, desolate world of Venom, at the opposite end of the Lylat system. Ten years later, General Pepper and the Cornerian government noticed strange activity coming from Venom. Calling upon the freelancing mercenaries that arose during the '10 Years of Recovery', one such team of soldiers-for-hire heard the General's call: The Star Fox Team, led by esteemed Cornerian Flight Academy pilot James F. McCloud, along with Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar. Hired by the Cornerian government, General Pepper sent the mercenaries across the Lylat system to investigate. Upon their arrival, McCloud and Hare were betrayed by Dengar, and they were subsequently captured by the heavily mutated and madly insane Arthur Monkeyvitch, now calling himself 'Andross'. Managing to escape the mad monkey mogul's wrath, James sacrificed himself to allow Peppy the chance to escape, albeit barely with his life. Peppy returned home to Corneria and told James' young son- "Fox"- of his father's fate. Five years since that day, Andross has invaded the Lylat system, gradually pushing the Cornerian Army's control over the star system back to their home-planet. With few options remaining and his forces scattered across the system, General Pepper has called upon the next generation of the Star Fox Team, captained by Fox McCloud, to save Corneria and free the Lylat system from Andross' madness once more...

From the top of the Corneria City Watchtower, General H.D. Pepper stared up to the skies, awaiting for the arrival of Andross' forces. The weary General- an old dog adorned in a red uniform with black boots and a red cap- watched with a serious demeanour on his face, as a cloud of Venomian starships blocked out the light of the Lylat star, descending upon the capital planet Corneria like a plague of locust. At the head of the invading fleet, the dreaded Venomian flagship, dubbed the 'Attack Carrier'. Sleek and imposing, the Attack Carrier was a monolith of technology, the crossing point between Cornerian technology and Venomian culture.

General Pepper looked down from the now blackened skies and into the shadowed streets below. He frowned from spite as to the panic that was likely roaming the streets below. Just as quickly, his hate-filled frown turned into a empathetic look, knowing all too well the terror the Cornerian people were feeling.

"Five years..." The General barked, a voice filled with sorrow. "Five years of fighting... And he's done it. He's finally pushed us back onto our home turf." He returned his gaze to the skies, where Venomian starfighter ships began to zoom and zip around the airspace of Corneria City. "Five years... Damn you, Andross. What have you become, old friend?"

At that moment, a captain of the Cornerian Army burst into the room. Dressed in a blue uniform, the husky captain barked out, "General Pepper, sir!" and stood tall and stiff, a proud salute to the general.

"Captain Husky." Pepper responded, turning to the captain and saluting back.

The captain loosened and approached. "General, the Venomian forces have completely overrun our outposts across the Lylat system. If the army falls... Then it won't be long until Andross reaches the Inner Worlds, sir. He'll be able to rule the entire system!"

Pepper turned back to the window. Closing his eyes, he then barked, "Put out the call, Captain! We need a freelance team!"

"Yessir, General Pepper, sir!"

 _Meanwhile..._

Within the depths of the Lost Corners of the Lylat system, a lone mothership known far and wide as the _Great Fox_ listed lazily through the black frontier. Aboard the ship bridge, a mechanical servant designated 'ROB' helmed the _Great Fox_ through lone asteroids and passed distant planets. The robot tick-tocked its way around the bridge, watching the stars and planets upon the horizon glimmer in and out of eyeshot. The bot's gold body frame shone as the ship went passed stars at close range, heating it warmly (or so it would have liked to think). Approaching a terminal close to the back away from the observation deck, ROB monitored a group of Cornerians on the security footage. The first the robot saw was an old rabbit, brown fur greyed over the years, dressed in a white duster with a red jumpsuit underneath with silver boots and a white undershirt, as he wandered the storage units to check the ship's supplies; he held a holographic clipboard in his right hand, and chewed on the end of a stylus in his giant buckteeth. The next was a frog, who hopped from wall to wall around the hangars, scanning starfighter ships from top to bottom looking for any needed repairs. He wore a white jacket over a blue jumpsuit with the same set of silver boots as the rabbit, as well as a red cap upon his green head. As he hopped to one starfighter ship, he angered another figure: a bird of some kind, blue feathered with red eye plumes, with a black jacket, orange jumpsuit and again with the silver boots. The arrogant bird snapped at the frog- 'Slippy'- for getting slime on his 'Arwing'. Slippy laughed and hopped away, whilst the bird- whom the frog called 'Falco'- returned to tinker with his ship, annoyed from the frog's interruption. Finally, ROB watched a red fox sitting alone in the mess hall, his eyes closed, twisting and turning his body as if he was piloting a ship through an asteroid field. The fox was dressed in a green jumpsuit, with a white jacket over the top and a bright red scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. After weaving his body around for a few minutes, the fox opened his eyes- a bright set of green- and flipped into the air, kicking and punching, before changing direction as if he were under attack from invisible forces. Amongst his movements, the fox pulled a black blaster pistol from a holster at his waist, aiming it across the room and mouthing fire sounds from the weapon.

Suddenly, a blaring siren sounded on the bridge, alerting ROB to the command point. The robot quickly tick-tocked over, and read the warning light that appeared. EMERGENCY MESSAGE, it read.

Activating an intercom, ROB boomed, "Message from General Pepper. Priority One!"

With that, the four men from across the ship dropped their duties and raced to the bridge. The fox and rabbit charged together, whilst the bird and frog constantly tried to outpace one another. The four pounced upon the elevator to the bridge at the same time, struggling and squeezing to fit. The frog Slippy- being the smallest- slipped out and allowed his friends in first, who all whiplashed into the elevator.

"Ha, ha!" Slippy laughed. "You guys are jumpy!"

"Slippy, what are ya doin?! Come on!" Falco yelled, getting to his feet, again annoyed with the frog's happy-go-lucky attitude.

"Calm yerself there, Falco!" The old rabbit- Peppy- calmly boomed, placing his hand on Falco's shoulder in a bid to calm him down. "Slippy ain't yer enemy." Falco meekly scoffed and folded his arms.

The fox stood, dusted and straightened his clothes, turned to his friends and proclaimed, "Okay, guys. Let's get to the bridge! Slippy?"

"Sure thing, Fox!" Slippy stepped into the elevator and pressed a button to send the group to the bridge. Within just a few seconds, the elevator had reached the bridge, and the four assembled at the command point where ROB waited for them, ready to activate the message.

"We need your help, Star Fox! Andross has finally crossed the Lylat system and is invading the planet! Our army is spread across the system and can't do the job alone! Hurry, Star Fox!"

"Message end." ROB spluttered, turning to the others who watched on.

"What 'cha thinkin, Fox?" Falco quizzed.

Fox looked to each of his friends before proudly proclaiming, with a large grin and a wave of his hand, "Set a course for Corneria, ROB! Our home needs our help!"

"Affirmative! Right away, Captain Fox!" ROB turned back to the command point. Activating the holographic controls, the robot began to set a direct course for the fourth planet of the Lylat system, and the home of the government, Corneria. "Course ready! Jumping now!"

 _Back on Corneria_

General Pepper commanded what he could of the Cornerian Army to maintain their current orders. "The home-planet may be under attack, but to withdraw all troops from across the system will be futile! Maintain your defence, boys! We'll take back Corneria with what we have, and then send on backup to push back the Venomian forces!" he proudly commanded over a meeting with his officers, who all chanted a patriotic "Hoorah!" when he finished and their holograms dispersed. The General returned to the window, where Cornerian fighter ships began their counterattack against the Venomians. Laser fire lit up the skies of Corneria City, and the explosions of fire and metal from the ship as they were shot down by enemy fighters was a sight to behold. Even Pepper, for his father-of-his-men ethic, couldn't help but see the twisted beauty of the war-torn fireworks. His heart weighed down with sorrow as his troops willing gave their lives, defending the innocent people of Corneria. His pride in the military force he had led for well over 20 years knew no limits.

Captain Husky returned to the room. "General Pepper, sir!" He saluted again, tall and stiff in his stance.

"What is it, Captain?" Pepper questioned inquisitively, returning the salute.

"An unknown assault carrier has been sighted entering the atmosphere, sir! Permission to open fire?"

The General's eyes brightened and a smile worked its way back onto the old hound's face as he saw the ship was shown on radar. "Permission gladly denied, Captain. It's the Star Fox Team!"

"Understood, sir!" The captain reached a communicator and loudly boomed, "Disengage, A-SAC! Repeat, disengage and allow ship passage!"

The General began to place a direct transmission to the ship. Pepper proudly smiled as he recognised the architecture of the _Great Fox_ as if it were a regular site. The Star Fox Team appeared on the windows of the Watchtower as a holographic projection. "It's about time that you showed up, Star Fox! Our forces are stretched thin across the Lylat system! You're our last hope to reclaim Corneria."

From the _Great Fox_ , lead pilot Fox McCloud stood proud and quipped in a confident voice, "We'll do our best, General! Andross won't take over Corneria! Not with me around!"

"Begin your approach to the city, Star Fox. The Venomian forces will likely kick up a fuss. Your main target is the Venomian flagship, the Attack Carrier. It's disappeared since the initial invasion of Corneria. Good luck, Star Fox! Pepper out!"

"Message transmission end." ROB spluttered.

"Alright, Star Fox. You guys heard the General. Let's get to it!" Fox proudly shouted, turning back to the elevator with the other following close behind him.

"You bet, Fox!" Slippy cheerfully croaked.

"Right behind ya, Fox ma boy! Just like your father before you!" Peppy chattered.

"Finally! Some real action!" Falco cockily squawked.

Racing through the corridors and along the gangways of the _Great Fox_ , the Star Fox Team- consisting of lead pilot and captain Fox McCloud, ace pilot and second-in-command Falco Lombardi, veteran pilot and mentor Peppy Hare, and rookie pilot and mechanic Slippy Toad- boarded their individual Arwings. Fox's held the trademark Star Fox emblem on both wings, Peppy's was edited with a set of rabbit ears and a small angelic memorial centred around the letter 'V'. Falco's customisations to his Arwing had given the ship a custom eagle-like paint job, advanced G-Diffusers for greater speed and agility (at the cost of shield strength) and even Needler cannons to pierce through enemy ship armour. Slippy's ship had been coloured with small lily-pads and wrenches.

"Ready for launch!" ROB announced over the intercom, as the Arwings shot from their holds in the hangar and out through the clouds and emerged in the skies of Corneria.

"Open your wings, guys. Check your G-Diffusers." Fox relayed to his team.

"Falco here. I'm all good, and pecken' for some action!"

"This here's Peppy. All systems a-go!"

"Slippy here. Everything's green!"

"I see Andross' goons up ahead! Let's rock 'n' roll, Star Fox!"


	2. Chapter 1- Corneria, Enter Star Fox

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 1: Mission 1- Siege of Corneria City, Enter Star Fox

The Star Fox Team splintered off across the open waters leading towards Corneria City. Venomian starfighters ambushed the group from behind rock pillars and hidden away in caves. The heroic pilots dived up, down and all-around to shake off their attackers. Ace pilot Falco was all too ready for the action, corkscrewing through arches and gliding over the ocean surface as the Venomian invaders chased after the avian ace.

"Don't get too full of yerself, Falco! Even the best of the best can make mistakes." Peppy warned over the communicator.

"Cool it, old timer! I can handle it." Falco cockily snapped, flipping his Arwing over and spraying the ocean's waters around him in a pretty fountain before doing a loop on himself and reversing roles with his chasers. Opening fire with his ship's Needler cannons, Falco effortlessly destroyed his two pursuers. "Scratch two bogeys!"

Slippy flew away from the group as they barrelled through the valleys and ruins. Long winding corridors of land to either side, Slippy took the safest routes on the approach up on the land, ousting him as an easy target. Maybe too easy for now, as he was largely ignored by their attackers.

"Be careful up there, Slippy. You're an easy target." The old rabbit chimed again.

"Don't worry, Peppy. I'll be-"

"Slippy, watch out! Bogey on your tail!"

The lone flyer had been ambushed from below, as a lone Venomian starfighter burst onto Slippy's flight path and began to tackle the frog's shields. His fellow pilots called out to him to evade or regroup, but Slippy's 'journeyman' skills as a pilot meant the chaser wasn't easily shaken off his trail. Slippy's sloppy evasive actions soon had his shields down at critical levels, and his ship was now taking direct hits.

"Ah! Can one of you guys lend a hand?" Slippy nervously chattered over the communicator.

Within seconds, Fox broke away from the main group and swung up the valley slope, rolling his Arwing along as he did. Swinging out across the lush green country, Fox targeted the attacker and open fired upon the ship with his Arwing's dual plasma turrets, quickly blasting through the fighter's weak shields and casting it off in a blaze of metal and fire.

"Thanks for the assist, Fox. I thought I was a goner for a moment there!" Slippy thankfully croaked over the communicator.

"No worries, Slippy. Stay with the group from here on out, though." Fox replied back in a cheerful tone.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Flying together, the Star Fox Team zoomed through the valley and battled more of Andross' forces in the surrounding ruins. The enemies used the desolate grounds to their advantage, hiding in the shadows of the fallen buildings and pouncing on their prey like ambushing predators. Not too shabby for a strike force of apes. However, the Star Fox Team knew these ruins like the back of their hands; Fox and Slippy often trained in piloting manoeuvres out here during their days at the Cornerian Flight Academy, Peppy was heavily experienced in these kinds of ambushes, and Falco's skills and training saw him through most hairy situations. All four pilots quickly outran their ambushers and pulled the same tricks on them, hitting back with hide 'n' strike tactics, turning the tide of the ambush. The ambush of 12 Venomian fighters was quickly whittled down to 4, who ran from the ensuring battle.

"You're not gettin away that easy, ya scrubs!" Falco barked over open communications, charging off after them.

"Stick with the team, Falco. We don't wanna lose you out there." Fox calmly asserted over the teams communicator.

"Ha! I can handle these cowards."

"Now listen up, Falco: you and Fox may go a-ways back, but that don't mean ya get to walk all over the boy! Fall back in line, Lombardi!" Peppy barked, frustration running through his words.

Falco let out a grudging cough. "Fine! You bozos get to live... for now!" The ace pilot bird returned to his friends and continued on their path towards Corneria City, which was now appearing on the horizon.

Throughout the rest of the ruins on the approach, the Star Fox Team was repeatedly ambushed and attacked from darkened shadows by enemy starfighters, ground teams and even hijacked anti-spacecraft assault cannons, which could shoot down almost any small starship in a single shot. Luckily for Star Fox, the cannon teams often targeted Falco, who zipped and zoomed around the field like a dragonfly, narrowly avoiding the plasma bolts of energy thundering towards his Arwing and spinning in style. Every so often, he would swoop down like a hawk and blast the ground teams, shouting "Death from above!" in a triumphant boast before zooming back into the sky. Peppy and Slippy teamed up to attack the fighters that chased after Star Fox, making short work of the fighters, exploding their ships into pretty balls of fire.

Passing through the ruins after about four hours of fending off and counterattacking ambushers, Star Fox finally began their approach to Corneria City, the megalopolis monolith and pride of the Cornerian government. The city spanned an almost three-hundred and fifty mile diameter, with the Watchtower erected at its centre. Within the tall skyscrapers and low buildings, the Star Fox Team could see the Cornerian pilots chasing their invaders and blasting them to dust, whilst others gave their lives bravely to defend the innocents of Corneria City.

"Keep sharp, guys. We're entering the city now." Fox boomed over the communicator as the Star Fox Team began to sail over the south wall of the warzone. The sun beamed down on them from the north, briefly blinding them before they dispersed through the city skylines, which billowed with burning smoke and the screams of terror from civilians trapped in the high skyscrapers.

"This is horrible..." Falco mumbled glumly over the communicator. It wasn't like the often hot-blooded Falco Lombardi to show much emotion other than pure arrogance. Perhaps seeing this once-great city now in a battleground state hit him a little too close to home.

"I know, Falco. But that's why we're here: to send Andross' cronies back where they came from!" Fox boomed.

"Stay alert, boys! The ruins were small fry compared to the city!" Peppy shouted, diving through the streets as three fighters tried to catch up with him.

The old rabbit even zoomed across Fox's view, startling the leader and causing him to dive down to the streets before rocketing back into the skies again. As he looked around, Fox failed to trace his fellow pilots, even failing to spot them on radar. He was now cut off from his team, and soon was preyed upon by Venomian ambushers. With a squadron of five fighters hounding him, Fox whipped around the skyscrapers at blinding speed, looping up and over the spire and charging down on top of his chasers. Firing his twin-turrets, Fox took out three of his pursuers; two with a classic blast into oblivion, and the third one was clipped by laser fire and sent careening off into the streets, spiralling across the streets of Corneria City before slamming into one of the city's many rivers that ran throughout. Fox could only watch as he flew by, the carnage and chaos from the crashed Venomian ship. Wishing he were someone- and somewhere else- for a moment, Fox regretfully turned his attention back to the fighters, who had now became the chase, rather than the chasers. Fox tailed one and diverted the fighter down a path to the left, cutting the invader off from their last remaining comrade. The two weaved and bobbed between skyscrapers and spires, before diving under the various bridges lying throughout the city and skimming over the waters of the rivers below. After a racing chase, Fox finally focused his aim on the fighter and blasted him with the twin-turrets of his Arwing, detonating the Venomian attacker into a ball of fire as Fox blew through the hot cloud.

"Guys, I've been cut off in the city. Head for the Watchtower to regroup." Fox yapped over the team communicator as he weaved between skyscrapers, over and under bridges and barrelled around civilian cars as they tried to flee the city. Fox had bobbed and dove through construction sites, demolished scrapers and even by abandoned subways before he finally reached the Watchtower, the centrepiece of Andross' invasion.

Before he could search for his comrades, a giant mech appeared to rise from the slums, shadowed by the Watchtower. The horror-show almost eclipsed the sun, blocked the Watchtower from Fox's view entirely, and stood tall with a missile launcher strapped to one of its shoulders, and a bomb launcher on the other. Its arms were long and bulky, likely for swatting fighters as they got too close, which Fox witnessed as a Cornerian pilot swung passed the mech, which then swatted the ship into its fiery doom.

" _This_ is the mighty Star Fox Team?" A voice bellowed from the mech's loud speaker. It was screechy and hurt Fox's ears. "Ha! You're nothing more than a mere footnote in the history of the glorious empire under Lord Andross!"

"And who are you supposed to be?" Fox quipped over open communications, circling the colossal mech, scanning for a weak point.

"I am Granga, a Lieutenant in the Venomian Army and sworn follower of Lord Andross. We will crush the Cornerian government and install a new era of order under the might of Andross. Long live Lord Andross!" the maddened mech pilot proudly boasted over his speakers. "And this marvel of engineering and construction is the Venomian Giant-Mech Prototype: DEATHMONGER!"

"Wow. That's... quite the name." Fox groaned, rolling his eyes as he continued to circle the "Deathmonger", coming round to the front again.

"Oh... I'm going to show you, STAR FOX!" Granga then activated his missile launcher, casting five missiles after Fox. "ALL WHO OPPOSE LORD ANDROSS SHALL DIE!"

Fox then threw his controls down, diving his Arwing below before pulling up and sailing straight through the Deathmonger's legs. The missiles traced Fox's movements, and hounded him as he raced up the Deathmonger's back, slowly coming closer and closer to contact with his Arwing's engines. Fox then passed through the mech's shoulder, with all five rockets following him flawlessly, failing to careen with the mech. _Dang._ Fox thought. _There's gotta be something on this bucket that looks weak._

"HA HA!" Granga cackled, a demented tone echoing through his voice. "The Deathmonger is unstoppable! So much for the mighty Star Fox! Taken down by the Venomian Giant-Mech Prototype like swatting a fly! How pathetic! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Just then, a smart bomb was launched at the Deathmonger, throwing it back in a slapstick state as if it were trying not to trip over a length of cord. From whereabouts unknown, a Star Fox Arwing soared into the centre. Another two emerged from the skies above, tackling splintered Venomian fighters and taking out three of the homing missiles chasing down Fox.

"Slippy! Analyse that mech for a weakness!" Peppy boomed over the communicator, splitting away from the other Arwing and chasing after Fox. "Fox! Those last two missiles are too close for comfort! Quick, boy! DO A DAMNED SPIN!"

Fox then rolled his Arwing perfectly, rotating on the spot as he blasted through the open space like a drill. The two remaining homing missiles slowly began to twist and turn into one another to match the Arwing's flightpath, causing them to collide and explode into a fiery ball of light. Spotting the lack of homing missiles on his radar, Fox righted his controls and turned back on himself towards the Deathmonger, which attempted to lock onto Slippy and Falco, who both flew around the mech over its head. For all of Granga's boasting about the Deathmonger's superiority and marvelling firepower, it lacked the one thing needed in combat: mobility.

"Sit still, you bugs, so I can CRUSH YOU!" the enraged ape screamed over the speakers, barely shifting the mech at all in his attempts to swat the massively speedier Arwings that zipped around him like fleas.

Falco swung in behind the missile launcher and fired his Needler cannons at the Deathmonger's neck joint, causing a small rupture of explosions on the mech. Granga screamed in horror as his prized mech took massive damage that disabled its missile cannon. "Not so tough now, are ya, ya dumb scrub!" the ace squawked over open communications.

"I've got its weakness, Fox!" Slippy proudly chirped. "First, we need to knock it down!"

"Peppy, on me! Slippy, help Falco keep that thing busy." Fox and Peppy then began a charge to the Deathmonger's legs, whilst Slippy and Falco continued to buzz around the mech's head, distracting the pilot. "Peppy, you take the left leg, I'll take the right. We're gonna tag 'em with our power cords and loop that mech until it falls."

"Not a bad idea, boy! Alright then, let's do it!" Peppy and Fox charged through the mech's legs and fired their power cords from the back of their Arwings, which latched onto the Deathmonger's legs. The two then swung away from each other back towards the mech, passed each other and looped around the mech about three times before the power cords began to tighten. The armour around the mech's legs slowly but surely began to crumple like paper and soon, the Deathmonger started to wobble. After another two loops of power cord, the inevitable happened; the giant mech fell flat on its front, causing quakes across the city and crushing buildings into scattered chunks of rubble. The waters from the rivers flooded the streets around the Watchtower, racing all over and flushing out lives; military, civilian and invader alike.

"Down goes the Dead-Chump!" Falco spat over open communications, mocking the downed Deathmonger and its pilot Granga.

"NO! How can this be!?" Granga bellowed from his mech. "This is the mighty Deathmonger! I cannot lose with this glorious mech!"

"Fox, the booster on its back! That's its power supply!" Slippy quickly chattered.

"Thanks, Slippy. Star Fox, distract the mech. I'm going in for the kill!" Fox boomed, charging down from above upon the downed mech.

"How can ants thwart a giant!? How!?"

"Old saying for ya, Granga: The bigger they are..." Fox selected his ship's smart bomb and readied the launcher. "... the harder they fall!" With his bomb locked onto the Deathmonger's booster pack, Fox clicked the trigger and sent the bomb careening for the mech. Within just a few seconds, the bomb connected and blasted the mech apart.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Granga screamed before slowly sobbing, "Lord Andross... I have failed you..." as the Deathmonger slowly erupted into a shockwave of explosions, which was capped off with the dormant missiles and grenades from the launchers exploding into a glorious mushroom cloud of hot fire and gas.

"Sayonara, Granga!" Peppy shouted over the communicator.

"Not too shabby, Fox!" Falco chortled. "Hey guys, follow me!"

"What're you up to, Falco?" Fox questioned the bird.

"I've got a lock-on to the flagship. Try and keep up, pup!" Falco teased, blasting off into the skies and disappearing into the clouds above.

"Let's get after him, boys. Good Ole' Falco has a habit have bitin' off more than he can chew!" Peppy joked. "Use yer G-Diffusers to boost and pick up some speed."

With that, all three blasted through the skies, rocketing through the air and likely breaking the sound barrier with ease, chasing down their loose cannon of an ace pilot. Within seconds, they were above the clouds, where the Lylat star beamed down god-like rays of sunlight. The skies of Corneria were a tranquil blue; surprising considering the almost dull grey of an imminent thunderstorm below the clouds. As Fox, Slippy and Peppy sailed over the clouds, they soon joined back up with Falco, who was listing lazily along the horizon.

"Hey, Falco! What did ya find, pal?" Fox quizzed.

Suddenly, a sleek battleship began to ascend from within a thick cloud, cutting through the sky like a hot knife through butter. Before the regrouped Star Fox Team, laid the flagship of the invading Venomian armada: the Attack Carrier.

"Ah. Someone else wants to play with General Gecko, and my Attack Carrier!" a voice from the battleship boomed.

"I'll take this one. Cover me, guys!" Falco charged into the fray, tackling the Attack Carrier's cannons that dotted its hull.

"Falco, hold on!" Peppy's warning went unheeded. "Cocksure boy. He's gonna get himself killed if he keeps this up."

"Then let's make sure he doesn't end up that way and cover him. Star Fox, on me!" Fox raced ahead, with Peppy and Slippy closing in with him as they charged as a unit towards the Attack Carrier.

"All Attack Carrier units, deploy! Kill the fool!" Gecko yelled over open communications, as the deck of the Attack Carrier opened and a horde of a hundred fighters scattered from the opening like soldier bees emerging from their hive under attack.

"Slippy, keep by Peppy and take out as many of those fighters as you can. I'm gonna try to cover Falco." Fox directed, charging off down the port side of the Attack Carrier's hull in pursuit of Falco, who had managed to disable twenty of the Carrier's hull cannons, but failed to notice the fighters slowly pouncing on him.

"Got it, Fox!"

"Be careful, boy!"

Fox continued his charge down the port side of the Carrier, closing in on the fighters that chased Falco, who had now destroyed another ten Carrier cannons before realising he had been followed by a squad of ten fighters. Falco was able to shake a small handful of his pursuers by diving under the hull of the Attack Carrier, zipping through the clouds and reversing the roles on his hunters and shooting at least three fighters down in a flash of light, but the others were quicker to the draw and kept on the bird's trail.

"Damn buzzards! Get lost!" Falco squawked over open communications, jerking his Arwing back on itself and flying straight towards his remaining pursuers, who splintered away to avoid crashing. Before he could right his flightpath and retaliate, however, Falco was already swamped by the Carrier fighters.

"Falco! Pull up! NOW!" Fox shouted over the communicator, watching intently as Falco's nose began to rise. As the Arwing began to flip up at a 45 degree angle, Fox launched a smart bomb, which just barely missed Falco's engines as the pilot swung into the air and over the Attack Carrier's main deck. Meanwhile, Fox's smart bomb crashed in-between Falco's pursuers, exploding them into a series of hot flashes.

"Humph!" Falco scoffed. "Thanks for the save... I guess..."

"Let's take the flagship down as a team, Falco. It's why I asked you to join us." Fox scolded.

"Yeah, yeah! Let's just get into the thick of it!" Falco barked, rushing back along the Attack Carrier's hull and bombarding the cannons with his Needler cannons. Fox circled the flagship onto its deck before charging ahead, firing his twin-turrets at the bridge of the Attack Carrier, splattering the flaghsip's shields with laser fire.

"Ha ha, you fools! My Attack Carrier's shields are impenetrable, and the Androssian Empire unstoppable!" Gecko bellowed at Star Fox.

"No one tell this zealot about Granga and his 'mite-eh Deathmonger' yet?" Peppy groaned over the communicator, tackling a large company of Attack Carrier fighters that flung around the clear skies.

"I've almost finished analysing the flagship. I should have its weakness soon!" Slippy croaked, barely managing to avoid being shot down.

"Just stay safe, Slip. Keep close to Peppy. Falco, we should fall back and regroup with the others." Fox commanded.

"Alright, shootin' at cannons was gettin' boring, anyway." Falco and Fox pulled back on their controls, slowing their engines and pulling back to the bow of the Attack Carrier and regrouping with Peppy and Slippy.

Defending their position and fending off flight squads of Attack Carrier ships that came their way, Star Fox swung around the massive flagship and blasting its hull cannons with all their firepower, but still the Attack Carrier flew, undamaged and unbroken from the near-endless torrent of laser fire. The sun blared over the skies, lighting the clouds beneath the battleground.

"All remaining Attack Carrier units, immediate launch! GO! Get those bugs!" Gecko cackled again, opening up the Carrier's deck to allow his fighters to attack Star Fox.

"I've got it, guys! The opening! Blast it with smart bombs!" Slippy cried in eureka.

"Star Fox, on me!" Fox charged ahead with Falco, Peppy and Slippy following close behind. "V Formation!" Fox and Falco swung by like knives, almost touching cockpits, whilst Peppy and Slippy followed behind in normal flight. As they blazed up the deck of the Attack Carrier, the Carrier's remaining fighter ships swarmed out over the top, charging down with a hailstorm of laser fire.

"That's too much firepower for our ships to handle! Fox, we need to pull out!" Peppy warned.

"We might not get another shot at this, Peppy! You and Slippy fall out and take them on. Me and Falco will finish off the Carrier." Fox barked, continuing to trace the deck up to the opening with Falco, whilst Peppy and Slippy spun off and charged the oncoming horde alone.

"Ha! You guys are bold! Stupid, but bold!" Gecko coughed.

As the duo passed over the closing deck, Fox barked out "Now, Falco!" and dropped his last smart bomb into the deck, with Falco dropping a bomb along with it. As the deck closed, the Attack Carrier ruptured with a mass of fiery blasts, tearing most of its infrastructure apart and casting off some of its beefier armour platings.

"Holy cow, it worked!" Slippy exclaimed in zeal.

"That's it, boys!" Peppy boomed in praise.

"YEAH! It's worken'! Take that, ya scrubs!" Falco squawked.

"What the hell!? You just dropped two bombs into _MY_ Attack Carrier! Who are you jokers?" Gecko screamed as the deck imploded and blasted the shutter door open from the inside.

"We're the Star Fox Team, bub. And you're finished! ROB, fire the H9 Cannons!" Fox radioed over to the _Great Fox_.

"Affirmative, Captain Fox! Firing H9 Cannons! Target?"

"The Venomian flagship Attack Carrier! FIRE!"

"FIRE!"

And with that, a hyperspeed bolt of laser energy shot through the skies of Corneria and slammed through the opened deck of the Attack Carrier, puncturing straight through the dreadnought and rupturing another explosion across the ship. Even more of its armour fell from its chassis, and blasts of explosive force triggered across the hull, detonating the Carrier into smaller chunks before exploding into a glorious fireworks display.

From the burning bridge, a coughing Gecko gagged, "You will never defeat Lord Andross! Even if you are Star F-" But before he could finish, the bridge cracked and boomed, causing a shockwave of force to ricochet across the horizon, slamming into the remaining Attack Carrier forces and knocking out at least 40% of the fighters, causing them to fall to their doom through the clouds, as Cornerian defenders blew up to assault the remaining fighters.

"Shepherd Squadron will take it from here, Star Fox!" the captain of the force bellowed over open communications.

"Well done, Star Fox! A victory fought is a victory earned!" Peppy proudly howled.

"We did it, guys! Almost thought we wouldn't!" Slippy nervously croaked.

"Heh! With Falco Lombardi on yer team, Star Fox will win no matter what!" Falco cockily squawked.

"We're heading out, Shepherd Squadron! Good luck!" Fox chimed over to the captain.

"Likewise, Star Fox!"

And with that, the Star Fox Team chased each other into the stars of the Lylat system, with the _Great Fox_ in tow, and set a course for their next objective...


	3. Chapter 2- Meteo, Asteroid Field

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 2: Mission 2- Into the Asteroid Field Meteo

The Star Fox Team continued their approach to the next battleground: the Asteroid Field known as 'Meteo'. The zone was unusually dense, with over ten thousand scattered asteroids throughout the region. Researchers from Corneria suspected that millions of years ago, there could have once been a planet within the region, but an unknown event destroyed the world, leaving behind only an asteroid field in its wake. Rich in minerals, Meteo was renowned for its precious metals and other resources, but this attracted the worst of the Lylat system: pirates, vicious brigands that hid away from the law within the uncharted asteroid belt. Even just navigating the belt without the threat of pirates was immensely dangerous, due to Meteo's depth and range of asteroids. Travelling through the Meteo belt was rare, even before the days of the Lylat Wars.

As the Star Fox Team slowly reached the edges of the Meteo belt, General H.D. Pepper called over communications. "General Pepper here! Do you read, Star Fox?"

"Loud and clear, General. Go ahead." Fox proclaimed, halting his team on the edges of the asteroid belt.

"I have just received word of your actions within Corneria City, battling against the two commanders of Andross' invading force. Very impressive, Star Fox! However, it will only get more difficult from here on out! Ahead of you is the asteroid field known as Meteo, a notorious pirate hideout, and the site of a number of battles against Andross' forces over the past five years or so. Recently, scouting parties have determined that the Venomian Army that Andross leads has deployed a utility spacecraft in the region to devour the belt's most precious minerals, and pave the way for his final push to claim the Lylat system. Watch yourselves in this place, Star Fox, as those asteroids aren't stuck in any orbital pulleys, so they move freely and if they strike each other... well, you could be in for a nasty surprise! And don't forget: the Sargasso Space Station is close by to Meteo, so pirates could be lurking in wait, preparing for an ambush. They're not your primary targets, but you'll be paid handsomely for disposing of any that cross your path." Pepper proudly boomed.

"Thanks for the heads-up, sir. We won't let you down!"

"Good luck, Star Fox. Pepper out!" The General's voice stopped as Star Fox continued their approach, entering the asteroid belt.

"It's quiet. Perhaps... _too_ quiet." Peppy murmured, watching the rocks with a great sense of unease. As a veteran mercenary (and a Cornerian soldier before that), Peppy was used to the hit-and-run tactics often employed by the pirates hiding out at the Sargasso station, and the guerrilla movements easily utilised in areas such as Meteo.

"We're entering the asteroid field now. Turn on your scanners, guys." Fox directed.

Falco blasted ahead of the team. "Oh, pirates! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"N-not helping, Falco!" Slippy croaked, an obvious sense of nerves echoed through his speech. Slippy understood he wasn't a great pilot, and he was now wading into an asteroid field notorious for criminal ambushes and "over-in-a-second" battles. Sure, he had the Star Fox Team at his back, but this wasn't the legendary crew of old; only Peppy Hare continued to fly with the team, as former lead pilot James F. McCloud had perished five years ago, and Pigma Dengar had defected and joined Andross' forces. This new crew was young and inexperienced, despite the natural talent that Falco and Fox displayed. While Falco had years of piloting and other driving skills from "the good old days" as the bird put it, Fox was massively less experienced, his only time with starfighters being his years in the Cornerian Flight Academy, which he had dropped out of- alongside Slippy and Falco (a year older than the fox and frog)- to form the Star Fox Team, only two years prior at age sixteen. Natural skill may be valuable, but even that needs honing and perfecting.

Falco continued to circle around the various rocks. "Ca'mon, ya dirty bandits! I've been waitin' to see what Sargasso boys can do!"

"Maybe there aren't any pirates-"

"Be careful, Falco! It's a trap!" Peppy barked suddenly.

Falco was ensnared on all sides by a squad of pirate ships. The fighters were designed and built by Macbeth Industrial, and recognisable by the classic 'Jolly Roger' (skull and crossbones) often associated with pirates painted on their ships' wings. Eight pirates charged the bird, but he dived through a blank file and emerged unharmed, as the pirates scrambled around the asteroids attempting not to collide with the rocks or each other.

"You guys go on ahead without me!" Falco grinned. "I'm taking these schmucks for a ride!"

In the heat of the moment, Fox snapped, "No way, Falco! Star Fox don't leave a man behind!"

"Foxy boy..."

"Um, Fox...?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm just havin' a little fun with these bozos. Now go on! I'll catch up!" Falco vanished deeper into the asteroid belt, with the eight pirates hounding him into the black void.

"That crazy son-of-a... Falco, fall back in line!" Peppy angrily barked over the communicator to no response.

"It's okay, Peppy. Falco will be okay..." the sound from Fox's voice was soft and defeated. He knew the dangers of going off alone like this, and yet he wasn't able to convince Falco to stick with the team. The three pilots continued onward through the asteroid belt.

For the next few hours, the mood was sombre, and the team's communications were null. They scarcely made contact with one another, either to comment on the lack of fighting, or the pirate ambushers likely waiting further within. Even so, all three of them shared the same thought: the odd silence. If this was a warzone, where were the participants? The wreckages of ships from days past and present? And where was Andross' advancement force?

"Hmmm..." Slippy mumbled over the communicator. "Maybe there isn't an invading force coming through the belt."

"Don't be so sure, Slip. Andross knows this field like a second home. If he wanted to use this run, he wouldn't just have his men slink lazily on through. He'd have them work like a well-oiled machine, picking their fights wisely and working around the rocks rather than storm the place like a bunch of wild apes."

Fox chirped up, as a small cluster of blips appeared on his scanner. "Eyes open, guys. We've got company!"

As they twisted around the asteroids, Star Fox quickly came under fire from Andross' advance party. Fox dived through a small patch of asteroids, attracting five fighters to follow him. Within the field, Fox swung to and fro around the rocks, swinging up and down to avoid them in the hopes of tripping up his 'pursuers'; one got too drawn in and collided with a meteor, shattering the space rock and scattering rock fragments across space. Up ahead, Fox was too busy looking back at the spectacle to notice that two meteors were about to collide in front of him. Managing to look back at the last second, the startled vulpine suddenly pulled up on his controls, throwing his Arwing upwards, as the two meteors smashed together and splattered off into deadly chunks of space rock. Another two fighters were distracted and decimated by the racing rocks, but the remaining two were unhindered and joined by another four ships.

"Dang!" Fox shouted. "These guys don't know when to quit!" Fox pulled on the brakes and turned his Arwing back to face his enemy. Sitting in the middle of a meteor circle, Fox waited for his prey to come into view, his fingers ready on the triggers. As the pursuing fighters closed in on Fox, the young vulpine fired upon them, blasting two to bits with a third one spiralling away to safety before crashing into an asteroid in a flash of fire. The remaining three dodged his fire, only to be jumped by Peppy and Slippy, who shot down the surviving pilots. "Thanks for the save, guys."

"There's no Star Fox without its lead pilot."

"You saved my butt back on Corneria; only right I return the favour."

"Any sign of Falco?"

 _"Negative, Captain Fox. Falco Lombardi is still MIA within Meteo."_ ROB chimed in from the _Great Fox_.

"Thanks, ROB. Keep an eye open for that hothead. You too guys."

"Sure thing, Fox!"

"Roger that."

Suddenly, a mass movement was detected on the team's scanners, two kilometres to their west. Chasing down the blip, the Star Fox Team arrived to discover a giant spacecraft armed to the teeth with three mining lasers and a frontal rock grounder, perfect for grinding through asteroids and mining the valued minerals present within the Meteo asteroid field. This was the utility ship the Venomian forces used for digging their way through Meteo.

"W-Whoa! That's one heck of a m-mining ship!" Slippy exclaimed in shock and awe as the mining craft cut through the asteroids, which bounced off its hull like rubber balls.

"You will not stand in the way of Lord Andross' march, Cornerian scum. I- Lieutenant Macaca- shall stop you with this Macbeth Industrial utility cruiser, simply known as a 'Meteor Crusher'."

Fox's face contorted into a predator's snarl, "A mining ship isn't suited for combat, bub."

"Then let's see whether your puny little ships survive against my Crusher." the pilot snobbishly boasted, powering up one of his mining lasers. Within just a few seconds, a purple ray of energy shot through the blackness of space, decimating a long mile of asteroids before fading out over a 500 metre distance. Star Fox barely had enough time to avoid the flash, as they bombed up and down to move out from the attack. "Clever like a fox, my ass..."

"W-Whoa!" Slippy spluttered. "I th-think we're in t-trouble here guys!"

"Calm yerself, Slippy. We'll make it through this. Fox, what's our move?"

"We need to disable those mining lasers. Take them out, and the ship's defenceless. Follow me, guys!" Star Fox rocketed forward towards the Meteor Crusher, ducking around the ship's lasers and frontal grinder to avoid damage. Locking onto the mining turrets, Fox and Peppy blasted it with standard plasma fire before zooming passed and reversing their motion to ready their next run-up. Meanwhile, Slippy swung beneath the Meteor Crusher and peppered its hull with his Arwing's fire before sliding up its stern and back down its deck with more fire. Something was wrong, however; a pattern of some sorts, the inquisitive frog noted. As his comrades opened fire on their target once more, that was when it clicked in.

"G-Guys! W-W-W-W-W-We-"

"Slow it down, Slippy! Get yer words out!"

Slippy took three quick short breaths before clearly croaking, "This mining ship is protected with shields! We can't put a dent in it!"

"He's right. Dang it! That laser's taken two rounds of quad-plasma fire, and hasn't cracked or anything!"

"So much for a mining ship not being suited for combat." Macaca chortled over open communications, mocking Fox's short-mindedness. The Meteor Crusher began to prepare another laser shot when suddenly, nine starfighters shot through the scene.

"Hey hey, pals! Don't mind if I bring some friends to the pah-tay, do ya!?" a familiar voice squawked over communications.

"Falco!?" All three Star Fox pilots exclaimed one after another.

"My friends would like ta meet 'cha, Venom scrub! Oh, they're real friendly types... the burnin' and pillagin' type!" An Arwing charged straight for the mining ship only to zoom up the side of its hull, as five of the pirate ships chasing him failed to spot ahead and ploughed straight into the side of the Meteor Crusher, briefly puncturing their shields.

"Damn... You're actually a little looser than I'd have expected from Cornerian pilots. No matter. All troops, Meteor Crusher is under siege. Engage enemies immediately." Macaca calmly announced over open communications. With that, a small platoon of Venomian starfighters cut into the asteroid field, distracting Slippy, Peppy and the remaining pirates, whilst also alerting more pirates to the battle who came to the aid of their 'allies', for lack of a better description.

Soon, a three-way battle erupted in the Meteo asteroid belts; the Venomian force under Lieutenant Macaca, consisting of about fifty fighters and his Meteor Crusher mining cruiser; the Star Fox Team of only four fighters and their mothership sat out of range away from the dense asteroid field; and the Sargasso pirates, five squadrons of about eight ships per 'fleet'. The pirates hounded Star Fox and the Venomians alike, splintering off their members from their main strike force and blasting them. Within about half an hour, the pirates had successfully scattered the Star Fox Team around the asteroid belt- with the mercenaries still flying down to sheer luck and tenacity- and had wiped out at least sixteen Venomian pilots, even tackling the Meteor Crusher at odd times. The scattered Star Fox rallied each other from across the asteroid belt, shook off or reversed the tables on their pursuers and regrouped back at the Meteor Crusher's location as it crunched through the asteroids, grinding the small planetoids of space rock into jettisoned pebbles that flew across the empty frontier, lightly tapping off the larger asteroids like a pinball game before darting back across and through the area. Star Fox peppered the cruiser with laser fire, zooming up down and around the Crusher's hull, scorching its plating and mildly alerting its pilot, who simply stated "You'll have to do more than that to harm this cruiser..." in a rather dull and bored manner.

As the pirates zoomed back into the field, so did the Venomian ships, who viciously blew eighteen pirates into dust and fire, jettisoning what was left of the outlaws into the cold dead void of space. "Vengeance for our brothers!", the Venomians cried over open communications, taunting the surviving pirates before proudly hailing service to Andross, the madman that led the war against Corneria and sent Lylat into a battlefront spanning its nine 'major' planets. As the one corps of pirates went off to engage the Venomians, the other tackled Star Fox again, this time only separating one fighter from the group: the average pilot Slippy, whose ship's shields had already taken some vicious blows before the continual onslaught from the pirates cut through.

"Uh oh!" Slippy croaked, sweat pouring down his head as his ship's armour plating was now being scorched by the ruthless pirates. "G-Guys, c-could use a hand!"

"What're ya doin', Slip? Ca'mon, pal!" Falco cried in exasperation to Slippy's antics. Always arrogant of the natural ace.

"I'm comin' for ya, Slippy! Hold on in there!" Peppy dove away and headed deep into the fields as Fox followed after him. The fox and rabbit were quick to come to the frog's aid and quick to assits, easily taking out his pursuers.

"Th-Thanks for the save, guys...", a mournful tone hovered in Slippy's voice, "b-but I think my Arwing took a little too much damage from those pirates. I'm gonna have to-"

"No need to worry, Slippy. Get yourself back to _Great Fox_ and get your Arwing seen to. Me, Peppy and Falco will take things from here." The young vulpine boomed, reassurance and confidence in his tone. Slippy thanked his friend before slowly drifting away through the asteroid field and returning to the _Great Fox_.

"Like a father to his men. Heh! The irony..." Peppy curiously lamented before returning to the main battle with Fox leading him back.

As the fox and rabbit circled the Meteor Crusher once again, Falco attracted the attention of both Venomian and pirate attackers and led them out ahead of the mining ship. Opening communications, the Star Fox ace yelled "Yo, Macaca! I wanna see what those lasers o' yours can do!"

"You cannot fool me, dim-witted bird." Macaca calmly chastised the bird who follow before him.

"You callin' me stupid!? No one calls Falco Lombardi stupid! Ya hear me, ya dumb ape! NO ONE!" Falco then charged straight for the Meteor Crusher, which sat lazily within the open field, asteroids encompassing them like a cage.

"And none shall insult the intelligence of Lord Andross' will." Macaca readied all three of his mining lasers, locking them onto the Arwing that foolishly charged for him. All three lasers fired purple rays that quickly shot across the frontier, all three slowly conjoining and fusing to create one large beam. As they came within just a few tens of metres to the Star Fox Arwing, Falco bombed upward shifting his G-Diffusers to boost his speed, soaring over the mega-beam with ease and flipping over so that he faced the Meteor Crusher from the opposite angle. Meanwhile, the Venomian and pirate chasers were caught by the mining blast; of the combined forty fighters, only nine emerged unscathed, the rest were either vaporised by the powerful beam or had their engines blown. Of those nine, seven were Venomian soldiers, and the remaining two were pirates, who immediately broke off and called for a pirate retreat. Of the forty or so pirates that had emerged on the scene, only eight were leaving- their tails between their legs- as they all took off for the Sargasso Space Station for safe haven. The mining laser cut out over its 500 metre range and dissipated, allowing Falco to roll his Arwing back the right way and continue his charge against the Meteor Crusher. The bird smirked a devil's grin as he charged ever so closer to the Meteor Crusher.

"Bring it on, Macaca!" Falco barked, racing faster and faster towards his prey.

"Foolish bird."

Falco took a blast to the rear of his ship and began to tumble down through the asteroids. A hidden Venomian ship raced down to finish him whilst the bird tried to recharge power and fly to safety. As the enemy fighter chased down his victim and locked onto him, another Arwing swung through and peppered the Venomian craft with laser fire, detonating the ship effortlessly. Falco managed to right his ship and looked out to see Fox's Arwing zoom overhead. Falco scoffed to himself, annoyed that he let his guard down; a rookie mistake, and very sloppy. Still, he couldn't deny that it was a clean save. "Saved again... I guess I should say thanks..."

"Learn from yer mistakes, Falco, and you won't repeat them so easily now." Peppy counselled the ace, who responded with an audible scoff.

"Focus, guys. The fight's up here with Macaca and his Crusher, not between each other." Fox chimed in, charging up the side of the Meteor Crusher and peppering the mining ship's hull with laser fire. Peppy and Falco agreed to disagree and raced up together to tackle the Meteor Crusher once more. With the three remaining Star Fox pilots assembled above the deck of the Meteor Crusher with the pilot turning the laser inward on top of them. When Peppy questioned his leader as to why he was just on the main decking, Fox remained silent, his fingers gently resting on his thrusters. His bright orange fur (with white highlights) stood on-end all over the young man's body, his tail and ears shot about in anticipation. Sweat dripped down through the hair on his cheeks, and his green eyes squinted and twitched from straining as Macaca readied his lasers.

"Lost your nerve, Corneria? Have no fear; I shall end your life quickly." All three lasers awakened and blasted down upon Fox. His Arwing vanished in the violet explosion...

"FOX!"

"FOX!"

... and then a thick cloud of orange fire ruptured from the Meteor Crusher and an Arwing blasted through a dark plume of smoke. At the last minute, Fox had boosted up the deck towards the mining ship bridge, escaping certain doom unharmed whilst striking the Meteor Crusher with heavy force; enough that punctured the shields and cut straight through the spacecraft like cutting through paper. Fox regrouped with Peppy and Falco, who watched on as the vulpine took up a leading position.

"Fox, you are one crazy bastard! Looks like I made the right choice joinin' wi'chu guys!"

"Don't EVER do that again, ya crazy boy! Almost near gave me a heart attack! Stupid boy... Almost killed me twice, you McClouds..."

"Alright guys. Macaca and his Meteor Crusher are open. Let's finish this!"

"Wait!" the monkey bellowed over communications. "I-I underestimated you... Star Fox. H-How about this? I surrender... I admit defeat... I'm no match for your cunning..."

Macaca's cool and collected tone had turned into a nervous grovel. Fox almost accepted his surrender before Falco squawked, "You're not serious about listenin' to this joker, are ya Fox?"

Fox knew that Falco was right, to an extent. "Recognising us _now_ isn't gonna win you any brownie points, Macaca. You've come too far to give up now."

"Humph... You're smarter than I gave you credit for... No matter. You shall still fall to my Meteor Crusher's lasers!" the ape's voice sharply rose into a thunderous shout as he readied his laser once more.

Star Fox charged ahead, corkscrewing along their path, zooming in and out between each other. One moment, lead pilot led the charge, the next the veteran, and the other the ace. As they traversed up the deck of the Meteor Crusher, they continued their corkscrew pattern before flying up the length of the bridge. On the sole command "NOW!", all three pilots dropped a smart bomb upon the bridge, blasting it into a devastating ball of fire.

"DAMMIT!" Macaca screamed. "I cannot believe I have fallen to this... this rabble!"

"See ya 'round, Macaca... Don't forget to write!" Falco quipped as the Meteor Crusher finally tore in two and cast off into the black space before rupturing into a chain of explosions.

With the Meteor Crusher destroyed, the Star Fox pilots were redirected back to their mothership to travel to their next location.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Lord Andross, the Cornerian Army are beginning to push back our invasion force! They've halted the invasion on Corneria and are now mobilising across the Central Belt." a Venomian lizard screeched to a hologram of a large figure, who sat cloaked almost in shadow.

"This is troubling, commander. We had almost finally claimed the system..." A vile raspy strange voice boomed from the cloaked figure. Disappointment ran through his tone.

"One more thing, sir: the Star Fox Team has been sighted in the field."

The figure moved forward, unveiling the head of a wizened and aged snow monkey; crimson skin with white hair around the head and jaw. Sickeningly yellow eyes with red sclera, a devilish grin etched across his face. Both arms were augmented with a toxic mix of organic and synthetic material, with a node embedded within each palm. His chest held a beating monitor and fluxing respirator, taking away his need to beat his heart with blood or even breathe with his own lungs. His attire cast over him in deep purples, harsh reds and gold plating, presenting him like an emperor.

"Then counterattack, commander. And send our hired guns out to Fichina..."


	4. Chapter 3- Sector Y, Battlegrounds

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 3: Mission 2- Combat Zone in Sector Y

Aboard the _Great Fox_ mothership, the Star Fox Team made their way across the Lylat system towards the northern space frontier, which began with Sector Y, one of the three nebula dust clouds that laid throughout the Lylat system. So called due to its shape resembling the letter 'Y', the sector was known to be plagued with minor radiation storms and fluctuating magnetic waves that made even casual travel through the area dangerous. Nobody was really sure of what made the sectors the way they are, but scientists from the worlds closest to each sector (Katina for Sector Y, Titania for Sector X, and Zoness for Sector Z) theorised that past nuclear experimentation by ancient Lylatians caused a meltdown that polluted each zone with radiation, with Sector Y providing the weakest hotspot. Despite this, pilots and flight crews were advised to avoid the area, due to the fluctuating electromagnetic rays messing with equipment aboard spacecraft.

As the _Great Fox_ lazily drifted forward towards Sector Y, General Pepper contacted the team from the bridge. Peppy, Falco and Slippy sat in the back, teasing each other over old stories, whilst Fox and ROB stood at the observation deck and addressed the General.

"And that's about it, General." the vulpine leader summarised about the mission in Meteo. "They were using a Macbeth Industrial Meteor Crusher ship to open the way to attack the Inner Worlds and conquer Corneria."

"It'll take Andross' forces a few crucial weeks to have another Crusher ship sent out to the asteroid field, and even longer for his final invasion plan to go through. Well done, Star Fox! But this is far from over. Our main fleet has suffered major losses in Sector Y! The last we heard from flagship _Eisenhower_ was that the fleet has been crippled. Survivors from the battle have informed the Cornerian War Summit of the Venomian forces in the region: the _Saruzin_ battle-cruiser leads the charge, utilising a new squadron of mech-suits to combat our fleet. Eisenhower Fleet is likely beyond saving, but any troops you can find will add on a bonus to your payment."

"The Cornerian Army is in need, General. We may need the money, but saving survivors is a part of the job!"

"Be that as it may, your fee will be added to for any survivors you assist, just like destroying any attacking pirates from Meteo. Back to the _Saruzin_ and its mech-suits, those things are almost impossible to penetrate with turret guns; I advise distracting them before moving in for the kill with the _Great Fox_ 's H-9 Cannons. Of course, there will also be _Saruzin_ pilots out in the field to keep you on your toes."

"Roger, General. Star Fox moving out!"

"Pepper out!"

Before Star Fox charged off to fly back into the fray, Fox checked in with Slippy as to the condition of his Arwing. The frog regretfully croaked that the damages would take until the next area to be fully repaired, meaning that Slippy had to sit this mission out. Fox and Peppy consoled their fellow on the matter, telling him that he was doing good and that the rest of the team would be fine. Heading into the bowels of their mothership and onto the hangar, Fox, Falco and Peppy seated themselves in their Arwings and prepared for launch. When ROB gave them the go-ahead, all three blasted from their docking stations and zoomed out into the nebula cluster known as Sector Y. Within minutes, Peppy detected the background radiation causing interference with the onboard systems. Communications between the team had to kept to a minimum, and the scanners were blared with fuzzy static. In order to locate the Cornerian and Venomian fleets, the team would have to rely on good old-fashioned sight.

And it wasn't long before they found the battleground; the flagship _Eisenhower_ sat drifting above them as Cornerian fighters dove all around the field, whilst the Venomian pilots effortlessly ducked about, peppering the Cornerians with fire and costing countless pilots their lives. Derelict ships- from days gone by and from this current battle- slowly drudged through the vacuum, above ahead and below the Star Fox pilots. The horror of the battlefield left Star Fox in a sombre mood, but neither Fox or Falco could come close to the emotions of their fellow pilot Peppy Hare. Having once been a soldier in the Cornerian Army (alongside Fox's father no less), Peppy understood the terrifying air that would loom over the soldiers. Their comrades dead, missing or injured, stranded without help, or worse, used as bait for the more sympathetic pilots or rookies wanting to help, only to be ambushed by dirty enemies and wiped out without a second thought. Peppy didn't just feel sorrow for the Cornerians. He felt anger. In his heart lied vengeance. Vengeance for _his_ fallen comrades from the insurgency many years ago. Vengeance for the fallen during this battle. Vengeance against Andross' army for this needless war. Even vengeance towards Andross himself for killing James F. McCloud, Peppy's greatest friend and closest ally, to whom Peppy could unleash his deepest fears, desires and frustrations. A shoulder to cry on in hard times. A brother-in-arms, but also a brother sworn through each other's honoured word. And Andross took all of that from him. All through his agent who betrayed James' team and cost Peppy his brother. Despite his rage, however, Peppy knew that he shouldn't let this get to him; Andross could wait, and his fellow pilots would need his guidance to navigate Sector Y and defeat the Venomian fleet in the area. Besides, Peppy hadn't crossed paths with the traitor to the Star Fox Team since his betrayal five years ago.

As they swung up to enter the battlefield, Peppy loaded Fox and Falco with tips on the area. The radiation would fluctuate between "mild peril" and "barely a nuisance", and it would be a similar story for the electromagnetic pulses that zapped their secondary systems. Still, the three pilots knew the risks of wading into a rad-zone: many who were brave (or stupid) enough to head into the radioactive sectors almost never returned. Even the few who came back from them died shortly thereafter from radiation poisoning, psychosis or other mental afflictions. Star Fox knew they'd probably need a good scrub-down when they were finished in Sector Y. Racing through the scene of battle, each pilot took off in different directions to rally a squad of pilots; Fox took command of Eisenhower 1st, Falco Eisenhower 5th, and Peppy mobilised Eisenhower's 12-Gs, the smallest team of pilots to group together the rookies in an attempt to teach them how to work with each other and get experience with like-minded pilots before joining the main teams as more experienced pilots. While not necessarily a bad method of training and teaching, it was not always a success, as Peppy noted to himself; the 12-Gs were always made up of twelve fighters. No more, no less. Always twelve. If a new flyer had joined the fleet, the most senior (i.e. experienced) pilot of the 12-Gs was moved onto the more senior squadrons. And as Peppy could see, including the senior G- a dog dubbed "Private Nines"- who spoke with the old rabbit, only seven of the 12-Gs still flew. The others had either been shot down or were unable to continue flying. Peppy took lead and rallied Nines and the other Gs with Fox's 1st and Falco's 5th teams as they led the charge against the Venomian attack force.

"Alright, Eisenhower squad. Let's rock 'n' roll!" Fox led the charge and engaged the first line of Venomian fighters, effortlessly blasting thirteen fighters into dust. The 1st splintered off east and west around their Star Fox lead, breaking the Venomian line and pushing back the tide in favour of Corneria. Fighters figured eight as they flew around the space- up, down, left, right, forwards, backwards; anywhere and everywhere to get the drop on their target and shoot them down.

Falco led the 5th in next, tackling the second line of Andross' advance fleet. Falco had the 5th's CO- Lieutenant Bernie- join him and four other 5th pilots in V-formation, charging the second line like the point of a spear, whilst the supporting 5th fighters tackled the Venomian fighters much like the 1st. Falco's V-squad cut through the second line easily before dispersing behind them and wiping out a good twenty Venomian fighters with nary a scratch to their shields. Bernie cheered for her de facto leader, calling his move a "stroke of nutty genius"; Falco chuckled to himself and told her- and the rest of the Eisenhower 5th- to keep up the pressure; the Venomians wouldn't be downed so easily, after all.

Peppy rallied the Gs and held them back to pick off the Venomian fighters that slipped through the cracks of the 'Fox-Falco Platoon' and charged for the Cornerian flagship _Eisenhower_ , which sat back on the edges of the sector, away from the battlefield and radiation spikes. "Hold 'em back, people! They're trying to get through to the flagship!"

Peppy commanded a group of Gs to engage the fighters as they approach with basic tactics- such as straight flying (with Fox and Falco's combined force providing more complex fighting, using base tactics could provide a surprise edge in the attack)- whilst he and Private Nines attempted to trace the _Saruzin_ and its mobile mech-suits all the while spotting for any fighters that managed to get passed the other Gs. Peppy noted that they were probably too far out of range to detect the _Saruzin_ , and going any further into the battlefield would draw in enemy ships or cause interference via background radiation on the scanners. And eyesight didn't help much either; at such a long distance and the flashes of battle ahead, neither Peppy nor Nines could spot the _Saruzin_. All they could do is wait and spot for Venomian fighters that attempted to target the _Eisenhower_ flagship. The Gs were almost successful in stopping the stragglers from the Venomian fleet getting through, but Peppy and Nines were forced to take out a couple of fighters that wormed their way past. Peppy took the lead and moved with Nines under him, chasing down the fighters as they charged for the _Eisenhower_. Peppy took after three stragglers, whilst Nines hunted down only one. Peppy spun and dove around the derelict fighters from the battle before Star Fox's arrival, and blasted two of his targets with firepower, shooting one off into a collision course with a derelict ship, setting up a double _**KABOOM**_ before soaring passed to chase down his final prey, who put up a better chase than his comrades. Being the last target likely made him more motivated. Meanwhile, Nines barrelled around the frontier, trying to catch up with his prey's erratic flying style. They moved through the vacuum like a skipping rope being used in a whipping motion: up and down, up and down, up and down. Nines was quickly exhausted from the intense flying, the constant whipping motions sloshing his blood from head to toe, giving him a thumping headache and almost making him sick. Understandable, given his position in the 12-Gs as a rookie pilot.

Despite this, Nines was still able to keep with the more experienced Venomian fighter, who darted round the open field and through small dust clouds to confuse and startle his pursuer, who refused to give in and continued the chase. As the surviving Venomians began their anticipated approach to the _Eisenhower_ , Peppy managed to defeat his target, blasting the Venomian to a hot/cold grave, and Nines' target almost managed to close in on the Cornerian flagship ready to strike before the young private managed to disable the ship and send the Venomian drifting harmlessly.

"You gots some real talent there, Private Nines. Good instincts, too." Peppy spoke with genuine delight; he really was impressed by the young Nines' skill and fortitude.

"Thank you, sir."

The two began their approach back to the battle. "No need for formalities with me, son. I'm just an old gun-for-hire. Nothin' special 'bout me."

"I respectfully disagree... Commander Hare. You may not fly Cornerian flags anymore, but that doesn't mean a thing. You can take a soldier from the fight, but you will never take the fight from a soldier."

Peppy could feel his 'old' heart skip a beat from pride, and admiration for the wisdom and awareness of the young Nines. Sure, Peppy was only 46, but the years in the Cornerian Army certainly made him feel old, and every year that rolled on by since the heroic sacrifice of the soldier-for-hire James F. McCloud had a way of making the rabbit feel a hell of a lot older than he really was. The fly back to their garrison was a breeze, and the splinters of the Venomian fleet had been whittled down by the Gs.

"Well done, Grunts! Y'all make great pilots someday!" Peppy boomed in pride, followed with the Gs all shouting "Hoorah!" in unison. Looking ahead, Peppy could not determine any more stragglers from the _Saruzin_ garrison that broke through Fox and Falco's assault. "Right now, people! That's bring up the rear for the 1st and 5th! They're could use some back-up!" The Gs all shouted "Hoorah!" again, but an out-of-synch voice quietly mumbled the chant. Peppy caught onto the low voice and called out, "Who said that?" the old rabbit barked out in an odd tone mixing bombastic with support.

A quiet stammer sounded before a voice finally whimpered, "P-Private S-Springer, s-sir. I'm sorry, sir, b-but... I-I-"

"Spit it out, Springer!" an angry voice snapped.

"Who's that?" Peppy's voice changed.

"Prrrivate Hawkins, sir! And the coward is-"

"Shut up, private!"

"S-Sorry, sir?"

"I said, 'Shut yer damn mouth, boy', and show your fellow pilot some respect and understanding! Springer's afraid; don't matter what the reason is, the battle's been a stress on all and the youngster's afraid, and that's fine! If anything, I'd be worried if y'all said you weren't scared, even in the lightest sense! Now..." Peppy's rage quelled as he turned his attention back to the afraid private, "Private Springer, say what's on yer mind, kiddo..."

Springer sighed, "I-I'm scared, sir... I-I don't want to die..."

"You new in the Gs, private?"

"Y-Yes... sir..."

"Don't care for formalities, girl. Just stick with yer fellows and myself, and I promise you on ma beloved's grave, not only will you make it through this, but you will be regarded as one of the bravest pilots in this battle!"

"HOORAH!" Nines called out.

"HOORAH!" the other Gs chanted.

"Find yer mettle, Springer! Don't give up, trust yer instincts! Eisenhower Gs, on me!" Peppy blasted ahead, with the other Gs following him back into the fray. Nines held back with Springer until she found her "mettle", and even the ignorant Hawkins swallowed Peppy's humbling words and held back with the two. After a few minutes, the three readily and proudly few off to catch up with the others as they approached the broken Venomian line.

Ahead, Fox and Falco swung up down and everywhere as they decimated the Venomian forces, blasting five ships a piece every few minutes whilst the Eisenhower 1st and 5th repelled the Venomian strike teams, blasting a number of ships out of the picture, which either detonated into a explosive cloud or just drifted away powerless. By the time Peppy's cavalry of seven Gs arrived, the Venomian garrison had been almost completely broken and scattered, with a number of Venomian pilots retreating deeper into the radioactive field, while a few others deserted all together and ran from the battlefield. With the active Star Fox Team reunited with the entirety of the remaining Eisenhower forces, Andross' advance fleet had been pushed back. As the last enemy pilots fled or retreated, the Eisenhower remnants called out to their saviours, "All hail to Star Fox! HOORAH!". Lieutenant Bernie thanked the mercenaries for their assistance (particularly Falco, making the cocksure bird faintly blush before claiming "no worries"), and the Gs all heaped praise on Peppy, their temporary commander; even Hawkins admitted that Star Fox gave them the edge they needed in fighting back the Venomians. The mercenaries then broke off, entering deeper into the nebula in the hunt for the _Saruzin_. As they traversed the depths of the dust cloud further, Star Fox fought off the Venomian forces that had engaged Eisenhower Fleet and escaped the final push, but all were soon flanked by gamma rays, briefly kinking the secondary systems of all caught in the blast.

 _"What the -*********-ing on here?!"_ a cry of panic channelled over the static.

 _"-******-adiation in-***-area! It's messin' with the-******-ication systems!"_

"Guys, get your OXI's ready! The oxygen might give out!" Fox quickly fumbled about in his now-darkened cockpit, opening his Arwing's emergency supply box and fitting a breather mask- an 'OXI'- to his face, prepared for if the ship's auxiliary oxygen filters gave out. The young vulpine called out the order another three times in case his fellows misheard his first call. The cold dark ugliness of space now loomed over the young mercenary; he felt cut off and alone in the dead expanse of space, despite his fellow pilots only being few metres from him. His Arwing's engines were dead, lights had failed, and his oxygen filter was slowly dying. Fox allowed one unnerved breath to escape him before calming himself again and waiting for whatever came next.

Communications suddenly restored with the transmission: "-**-peat! Fox, do ya read, boy?" Peppy came through after some hazy static.

"Peppy, that you?" Fox quickly jammered.

"Roger, boy! Your systems back up yet?"

Fox checked his cockpit; lights slowly flickered back to life, the engines growled after a quick slumber and the oxygen filter stared up again. Fox detached his OXI and placed back in his supply box. "All systems go, Peppy."

"Yo, what's takin' you jokers so long? Let's get moving!" Falco cockily squawked. He was seemingly unfazed by the systems knockout.

"So that wasn't you on the communicator before?" Fox chortled, recognising the cry of confusion coming from Falco's voice.

"Shut up, Fox." Falco grumbled as he joined the others and the trio flew deeper into the nebula. Encounters with stragglers from the prior battle thinned out, and the radiation storms struck more frequently (albeit strangely weaker) as Star Fox headed deeper into the cloud.

After about an hour, the Star Fox Team finally sighted one of their head targets in Sector Y: one of the _Saruzin_ mech-suit defenders. Designed and constructed to resemble a warrior of ruthless honour and bloody potential, the mech was armed with a large shield and plasma-field sword, with ornaments on the helmet and arms to make it appear like an imperial agent of some kind. Its armour was a shimmering blue with white accents on the ornaments of the armour. Pointing it out to his fellow pilots, Peppy directed Fox and Falco on how best to engage this mechanical monolith; the wizened rabbit had spent most of the battle quietly pondering how to fight one of these mech-suits if they encountered one. Its plasma sword had a finite length of about 5 metres, and its armour-shielding would likely repel most laser shots. Falco pointed out the absurdity of the mech then possessing a shield- an archaic defence plate- when the mech was already protected by personal shields. Fox theorised that it must mean there was a weak point on the front of the mech, one that could be easily exploited. From this distance, however, none of Star Fox could point out any real design flaws and the only way they could would to engage the mech. Somewhat hesitantly, the Star Fox Team began their approach, with Peppy launching a smart bomb at the mech-suit, which then turned to confront its attackers.

"INTRUDERS. ANNIHILATE. COMMENCE." a loud speaker boomed over the communicator as the mech began to ready itself for combat; its sword's blade etched out, lighting up with a blue plasma which halted at the 5 metre marker within a controlled force-field; it raised its shield arm and then charged into battle.

"These things ain't piloted!?" Falco blurted out.

"Seems that way..."

Fox was almost swatted like a fly by the mech's sword, which was swung at his Arwing as the vulpine got a little too close to the mech. A close call indeed. Peppy swung in under its chest whilst it returned to its charge pose ready to attack the Star Fox lead. Peppy peppered its abdomen with turret fire, cutting through its hidden weakspot: the exposed power core hidden under its ribcage. That's what the shield was for.

"Boys, I've found this mech's weak point! Under its torso, its power supply is completely exposed. Hit it with regular ole' laser fire and we'll cut this bot down to size!"

"Good work, Peppy!"

"Heh! Not too shabby, old timer!"

The three then dogged around the mech suit, hoping to distract the mighty automaton with one target whilst the ignored two snuck under its frame and blasted it with firepower. This time, Peppy was the target of the mech-suit, whilst Fox and Falco slipped down its torso from the shoulders and back up into the underside of the ribs, blasting the bot with a dense volley of laser fire. As they flung up the mech, however, a stray bolt of plasma struck Falco's Arwing. But the bolt was yellow rather than blue. Then, Star Fox recoiled in shock as to the sight of a second mech-suit; designed almost identical to the blue mech, the yellow mech instead had black accents on its armour plating, a blaster rifle as opposed to a shield, and a sword that could fire a concussive shockwave.

"SARUMAI UNIT GOLDEN. ASSISTING SARUMAI UNIT AZURE. ENGAGING HOSTILES. COMMENCE." a second loudspeaker voice echoed.

"Ah, come on! We gotta take these two tin-cans at once!?" Falco groaned over the communicator, overlapping one hand with the other and vice versa as he attempted to isolate the shot his Arwing took and recalibrate the power output.

"Keep it cool now, Falco. The 'Azure Sarumai'- if ya wanna call it that- it's damaged, meanin' that it likely hasn't got long left in it. Focus on that mech before the new one!" Peppy called out.

"He's right, Falco."

The bird let out a loud scoff and began to distract the Azure Sarumai, zipping around its head like a common housefly, whilst Fox swung in for the lethal blow. Meanwhile, Peppy engaged the Golden Sarumai, holding it back from attacking his allies. The Golden unit was only briefly distracted, as it focused its attention on its comrade mech's distraction, firing a shockwave from its sword at the enemy.

"Watch yer tail-feathers, Falco! Incomin' projectile!"

The bird watched the concussive ripple slowly advance towards his position as he swung passed the Azure Sarumai's neck and down its back. Altering its counterpart, the Golden unit warned the Azure unit of the blast; acting upon the warning, the Azure Sarumai raised its shield in defence, causing the shockwave to ricochet through the mech's metallic frame and disperse around it. Falco was caught by the disrupted wave and tossed through the vacuum, just as Fox open fired on the Azure Sarumai's power core. The mech's chest exploded, and its shield arm fell from its frame, casting off and drifting lazily away into the black void. Fox pulled out away from the mech as it swung its sword for his Arwing, likely hoping to swat him out of action. The young vulpine barely managed to avoid the enormous plasma blade, somersaulting over the edge as it slashed at him. Falco had recovered by now and blasted the Azure unit with a smart bomb straight to the back in a fit of rage, almost severing the mech in half. The amount of damage the power core had taken from the onslaught of fighters had likely meant its force-shields had been rendered offline. Sensing the opportunity, Fox charged along the sword arm of the Azure Sarumai and peppered the head of the mech-unit, blasting its crystallised optics into shards of swimming glass, blinding the mech instantly. With that, Falco zoomed round its waist and laid the killing blow with his Needler cannons. Fire ruptured throughout the Azure Sarumai frame before billowing from the mech's broken eye sockets. The near 20-metr tall mech then fell limp in the vacuum as its mechanical innards and loosened armour plating jettisoned from its frame.

As the Azure Sarumai drifted off, Fox and Falco charged off to engage the Golden Sarumai with Peppy, who had been caught by the Golden's shockwave- knocking out his Arwing's engines for a moment- and was about to be cleaved in two by the mech if not for Fox launching a smart bomb at the mech, which threw it across the playing field. Peppy rigorously attempted to restart his Arwing's engines, telling his two younger pilots to continue on without him for the time being. Fox and Falco then charged the Golden Sarumai from the left and right respectively, peppering its abdomen with laser fire. It was seemingly more effective than against the Azure unit, as Golden seemingly lacked a personal shield. Golden's armour quickly became scorched with laser burns, and another smart bomb from Fox tore its head off, but it wasn't down yet. The mech went into a frenzy, and catapulted a flurry of sword waves out at its enemies, blindly flinging them across the battleground. Moving quickly, Fox and Falco flew in low before boosting up under the Golden mech and blasting its ribs with their turrets, which caused an outburst of metal and fire, ending with its sword and rifle exploding in its hands, which were blown to dust from the overload of damage.

"Good job, boys! These mechs won't be troublin' the Cornerian Army no more now." Peppy chimed in over the communicator, having rebooted the power in his Arwing and now drifitng slowly over to his pilots.

Fox let a quiet sigh slip from him. He hadn't shown it earlier, but he was greatly worried for Peppy's safety in a possible-derelict ship. "Good to see your Arwing's okay. You too, Peppy."

"Hell yeah, scrubs!" Falco squawked, "How'd ya like dem apples!?"

"Don't party just yet, Star Fox." an unknown voice bellowed over open communications.

"What the-!?" Star Fox blurted in unison before Peppy scowled, "Who's out there? Show yerself!"

"Gladly..." from within a heavy dust cloud, a sword-like flagship emerged from the nebula like it a sword piercing through a knight in shining armour; the dust billowing out along the body of the ship, the hole ahead of the ship and the one left behind as it soared straight through. This was the _Saruzin_ battleship. On its runway, another 'Sarumai' mech defender stood, locked in place with solid feet clamps that latched at the ankles. This one was different, however; its armour plating was an empty shade of black with purple accents and devilish red optics, a large shield attached to its arm and a sleek metal sword styled like a katana sat at its waist. Its helmet resembled the head of the Lylatian primates that were found across the star system (often as pirates, outlaws and mercenaries) instead of the imperial helm sported by the prior units. A hand reached to a belt and pulled the sword, flicking its tip to Star Fox before grasping it with both hands, the large shield covering the mech's entire left side. "Time to bear witness to the might of the MWF Warrior-class Mech: SHOGUN. Those Sarumai mechs you defeated? Child's play compared to this monolith of Macbeth engineering and Venomian design. You don't stand a chance against me, Captain Chimp of the Venomian Army!"

"You shutting up now? Finally!" Falco snapped over the open channel.

"Even I was finding that speech tiring!" Peppy chortled.

Fox didn't make a joke, but he had a small chuckle to himself from his comrades' nonchalant attitudes towards this- the latest on the long list- crony of Andross, and the sheer bombastic belief in Andross' intelligence and leadership. "Star Fox, take this bozo down!" The Arwings then shot off towards the _Saruzin_ , boosting with their G-diffusers, only for the Shogun pilot- Captain Chimp- to meet them halfway as the ankle latches opened and twin thrusters threw the Shogun mech towards the oncoming pilots.

"Scatter, boys!" Peppy called out, pulling down to the left to avoid the first swing from the Shogun's blade. tonnes of steel sliced through the vacuum, almost like cutting through the fabric of reality itself. Fox rolled off to the left, but Falco continued to charge Chimp's mech.

"Cocky little bird, aren't you?" Chimp cackled as he readied a vertical slash from his giant katana. "You'll suffer for your arrogance!"

As the swing came down, however, Falco spun off to dodge before detaching the shield from the Shogun's arm by carefully targeting four latches on the shield's backplate, causing it to drop from the Shogun. Despite this, rather than try and reattach the shield, Chimp pushed the shield away, reasoning it restricted his movement. At that moment, he began to swing the sword after Falco again, whilst Fox and Peppy charged for the mech's head in a pincer pattern, blasting the mech with a smart bomb from each side. Fox's bomb blasted a hole in the head, exposing the cockpit of Captain Chimp, who was an insect in size compared to the Shogun. Peppy's bomb, on the other hand, had detonated further down, taking out most of the Shogun's lower right side, blowing a gaping hole in the torso and ripping almost the entire right leg from the mech. As Peppy flew passed, he dropped his last bomb on the left side of the Shogun, which severed the left arm of the mech and left him open for a final assault. All three Star Fox pilots then rallied again and boosted ahead for the Shogun.

"Ready, guys?"

"Ready, ma boy!"

"Let's just do it!"

"ROB?"

 _"Location acquired. Firing H9 Cannons. Ready?"_

"FIRE!"

All three Arwings blasted the Shogun with their turrets, peppering the mech with laser burns which soon triggered the final detonations, leading to the mech exploding in a fiery mass of metal and chaos.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Chimp screamed as the Shogun crumpled and blasted itself apart. As the Shogun went down, a powerful plasma blast shot across the nebula and slammed through the _Saruzin,_ detonating the flagship and effortlessly wiping it out and causing a large column of fire and smoke to rupture across the last stretch of Sector Y.

"Booyah!" Falco whooped.

"Well done, Fox. Your father would be proud of you." Peppy praised.

"Awesome work, guys! I'll be joining you next time!" Slippy chimed in from the _Great Fox_.

"General Pepper has requested Star Fox head for Katina next." ROB chattered after Slippy.

"Katina?"

"Seems like a detour of sorts. What's the story, ROB?" Peppy quizzed.

"Andross' forces have splintered the Cornerian fleet across the Lylat system, and all of his major outposts must be eradicated."

"Alright then. Katina it is! Let's get going, guys!"

With that, the Arwings rendezvoused with the _Great Fox_ and headed onto Katina...


	5. Chapter 4- Katina, Reunion

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 4: Mission 3- Old Friends; Reunion on Katina

The cruise to the planet of Katina was a slow one, allowing for the pilots to restock and repair their Arwing fighters. Slippy checked each ship from top to bottom, welding new armour plates onto the fighter and replacing fenders on the G-diffusers (except Falco's Arwing of course; only Falco could touch that one), whilst Peppy went about resupplying the smart bombs. All three pilots had dispersed their stock. Opening the launcher chamber, Peppy slid out the empty bomb shells and slugged the new fresh ones in. Not an easy task for the old rabbit, as the bombs weighed about fifty kilograms each. Lifting each one from the floor, Peppy then had to hold each canister steady in the chamber before pushing it back into the hold at just the right speed; go too slow and you'd likely topple over, too fast and you'd probably miss the hold and damage the launcher. Luckily, Peppy was a master of restocking smart bombs despite their hefty weight, and had his own ship restocked in about ten minutes before moving onto his fellow pilots' ships. After about half an hour, Peppy was finished and moved onto Falco, who cleaned up the dented and scorched armour plating and replaced the damaged fenders on his engines.

"Hey Falco. You wantin' me to restock yer smart bombs?" Peppy queried as he approached the bird who dangled from a harness connected to the runners above. A welding torch blew sparks into Falco's masked face.

The bird stopped and flicked his mask up; the feathers on his face were cleaner than on his hands and now-exposed arms, having removed his jacket before setting to work. Repair work was hard work, after all. "Sure, old timer. Appreciate it." Even the gruff and boisterous ace pilot of Star Fox couldn't refuse such an offer. As Peppy set to work restocking Falco with smart bombs, the bird's signature attitude returned as he cried, "Why ain't Fox helpin' out with repairs?"

"Fox's in a meeting with General Pepper about Katina, right?" Slippy chimed in as he went over Peppy's Arwing after just finishing with Fox's. Slippy's own ship was ready to go, as he had spent the time his fellows were out in Sector Y to repair the damages caused fighting the Meteor Crusher ship in the Meteo asteroid belt.

"Yep. That's about right, Slip. You wouldn't wanna be doin that now, would ya Falco?" a wide smirk appeared on Peppy's face as he rested a smart bomb canister and looked up to Falco, who still sat about in his harness.

The bird merely scoffed and flipped his mask back down over his face and continued with his welding torch. "Whatever..."

Meanwhile, on the mothership bridge, Fox and ROB spoke with General Pepper over video transmission about their next assignment: the Katina Forward Base.

"The forward garrison on Katina was our main military outpost closest to the capital planet. But Andross' fleets have overrun the platoons we have had stationed there; Husky and Bulldog Squadrons have suffered heavy casualties, including their respective commanders. How the platoons have maintained their grip on the base I have no idea. Besides that, Andross has deployed a fortress ship, which allows for near-endless swarms of Venomian ships to assault our garrison! It make matters worse, the Venomian attackers are using decals almost identical to the Cornerian fighters, making it nigh-impossible to determine friend... from foe. Our forces need your help, Star Fox! Protect the base, rendezvous with the platoons and push back the Venomian fortress before it's too late!"

"You can count on us, General. We'll help turn the tide on Katina!"

The transmission cut out as Fox stormed off back to the hangar, alerting his pilots with the shout, "Rolling out, guys!" before jumping from the walkways to the lower levels and then on into his Arwing, as his fellow pilots scrambled to seat themselves; Falco was quick and efficient, Peppy calm and collected, and Slippy bumbled and bounced all over his ship before crashing into his cockpit. "ROB, systems check!"

 _"Arwing One: J. Fox McCloud. G-Diffusers: full power. Armour plating: 100%. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, undamaged. Frontal turrets: undamaged. Radar scanner: optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing One: ready to launch."_ the robot announced over the personal communicator. Fox had maintained his father's designation 'Arwing One' in memory, but he still felt a little sad that his Arwing wasn't his father's. ROB continued, _"Arwing Two: Peppy Hare. G-Diffusers: full power. Armour plating: 95%, repaired. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, undamaged. Frontal turrets: undamaged. Radar scanner: optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing Two: ready to launch. Arwing Three: Falco Lombardi. G-Diffusers: overclocked, full power. Armour plating: lightweight, 100%. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, undamaged. Needler cannons: primed and ready. Radar scanner: optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing Three: ready to launch. Arwing Four: Slippy Toad. G-Diffusers: full power. Armour plating: heavyweight, 100%. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, minor damage, repaired. Frontal turrets: minor damage, repaired. Radar scanner: overclocked, optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing Four: ready to launch. All fighters: prepare for launch!"_

"Ready guys?"

"Ready!"

With that, the Arwings detached from their holdings and blasted out into the atmosphere of Katina, the arid world and one of the first planets from Corneria. Billowing through the heat of entry, Star Fox was soon sailing over the sands of Katina towards the Cornerian Army's forward base, a large spire-like structure with four smaller towers at each main direction, all unified by a ring and a network of roads connecting one to the other and on. The skies above the base, and mindless carnage raged on; Corneria fighting Corneria, Venom fighting Venom, there was no real way of telling who was who!

"Slippy, get a scan on these fighters. We need to figure out who's who in this."

"On it, Fox!" Slippy hovered behind to fully analyse the battle ahead. "Almost finished..."

"Ah, screw this! I'm up for some thrills!" Falco charged off ahead, only for Fox to fire a weak shot after him that hit the ace's Arwing on the right wing and caused a minor burn. "Yo, smartass, I'm on your team!" he cried.

" Cool it, Falco! We're not here to risk lives simply cos you're too gung-ho! Star Fox may be a team of mercenaries, but we still have a code of honour, and we don't just rush off when we get bored!" Fox shouted, taking responsibility for Falco's cocky attitude and seemingly being able to rein the cowboy in. Falco scoffed, but did as Fox told him, and hung back to wait for Slippy's diagnosis on the battle.

"Analysis complete, guys! It's a little tricky to see clearly, but the Venomian fighters have a more plump design to them, whereas the Cornerian ships are more streamlined. Also, the blips for Venomian fighters should now appear in red, whereas the blips for Cornerians should be white." Slippy proudly boomed as Star Fox began to approach the battleground over the base.

"That'll help a lot; good job, Slippy!"

"Good work there, Slip!"

"Finally! Let's do this!"

Properly ready to engage the enemy, Star Fox flew off towards the outskirts of the command base, gunning down as many Venomian fighters they could spot. Thanks to Slippy's analysis of the fighters, identifying the Cornerians from the Venomians was ridiculously easy, but they still needed to be vigilant and attack their targets carefully; it was all too easy to allow the 'red-mist' to cover your sight in battle, rendering your only impulse to shoot anything that moves. Luckily, for the most part, the Star Fox Team could avoid this; Fox was level-headed, Falco was quick-minded, Peppy was wizened form his years of experience, and Slippy was the one who pointed out the inconsistencies between the fighter ships. The only friendly fire was the accidental stray shot that either missed or harmlessly caught a fighter on their wing. After about ten minutes in the thick of the moment, Fox had gunned down ten fighters, Falco and Peppy had shot nine, whilst Slippy came up short with only five downs. Around the central spire of the Cornerian Army Base the leading platoons- Husky and Bulldog Squadron- defended what was left of their garrison, tackling the swarming might of the Venomian invasion force. Even without their commanders, both squadrons stuck to their orders and protected the base with all their efforts.

As the Star Fox Team helped reduce the first wave of Venomians to a small handful, a young pilot barked out, "Unidentified Space Dynamics Compact Starfighter, identify yourself!"

"Yo, kid, don't 'cha recognise our flag? We're the Star Fox Team!" Falco squawked back; the bird sounded insulted that the youngster didn't know their emblem.

"Star Fox, huh? Who'd have thunk it...?" an unknown voice queried over the communicator. "Hang on, Husky 'n' Bulldog, cavalry's on the way!" A strike team of five fighters bombed across the horizon towards the forward base.

"Lieutenant Grey, stay back! We've got-"

"Stand down, Russell. Star Fox are friendlies." The mercenaries seemed taken aback by the commander's order, but Fox especially seemed confused. The name 'Grey' was familiar, and the voice was- "Long time, no see, Fox! Good to see you made it!" -all too similar. But the commander beat Fox to the punch: the field leader of Husky and Bulldog Squadrons was none other than Bill Grey, an old friend of Fox's from his Academy days.

"Bill!? Is that you?" Fox coughed in surprise. "Holy crap, it _is_ you! I don't believe it!"

Bill flew by Fox's Arwing, rallying the troops under his command and readying them for the next wave of Venomian fighters, which crossed the deserts to the north and began to rain down fire across the plains. "We can catch up later, Fox. Right now, we need to push back the invaders! Husky Squadron, cover the base! Bulldog Squadron, don't let 'em through!"

 _"Roger, Bulldog Bill! Covering base."_ the lead pilot of Husky Squadron bellowed.

 _"Copy that, Lieutenant! Mobilising defensive barrier."_ called the Bulldog lead.

Two squads of fighters split from the skies; one of twelve pilots headed north to meet the Venomian attackers; the other of sixteen pilots circled the base, picking off the stragglers from the first wave. 'Bulldog Bill' Grey- identified by the snarling red dog head on his fighter's body- led a small squad in to backup his fellow Bulldog pilots. Star Fox chased after him, ready to add their strength to Bill's.

"Backin' me up, Fox? Just like old times, huh?" Bill jested as Fox flew up close beside him.

"Just like old times, Bill!" Fox jested back to his oldest friend. The two had met on their first day of schooling at the Corneria Flight Academy when they were just six years old; from there, they had each other's back in a playground brawl, flight test or physical drill. The famous 'Fox-Bill' duo were as thick as thieves. Until _that_ day; the day Fox was informed of his father's death at the hands of the fallen idol Arthur Monkeyvitch- now Andross- and a traitor to James F. McCloud's team. Fox was only thirteen when he learned that terrible truth, and he dedicated the next few years to his piloting career, dropping out of the Academy with the natural talent and skills he had learnt before reforming Star Fox with fellow dropouts Falco (who was actually expelled) and Slippy (who wanted to focus more on mechanics and inventing), and Peppy Hare, the last remaining pilot of the old Star Fox. Meanwhile, Bill focused on his learning and eventually graduated; but as Fox realised in a slight shock, that would have only been a few months ago, and now Bill was leading two platoons in the war against Andross here on Katina. Fox's cheesy grin turned to a sombre frown, "Just like old times..."

 _"Bulldog Bill, enemy in range! Three hundred metres!"_ the lead barked out as Bill's unit and Star Fox awaited for the next wave.

"On my call, Bulldog Squadron... ENGAGE!" With that order, twenty-five fighters shot across the calm deserts and charged their oncoming enemy, who charged back strong with over a hundred fighters. The odds were against the Cornerian defence force, but that would not deter them; all involved in the charge were ready to fight like it was their last. Within a few seconds of charging, the first shots were fired- from who first wasn't clear, but the blood-pumping run soon erupted into a noisy display of fire, metal and chaos. Venomians ducked and dodged around the Cornerians, and a large handful of Venomians slipped by and charged for the base. Bill kept his unit close at hand, trusting the pilots of Husky Squadron to defend the base. The young commander swung through a triangle of Venomian fighters with a dynamic spin, somersaulting back on himself and peppering his targets' G-Diffusers and engines, with each fighter exploding one after the other as Bill spun back through them. An expertly display of skill, but also careless and extremely dangerous. As Bill pulled through the fire and smoke of the tri-pointed explosions, his fighter took some minor burns, which he easily shrugged off with another spin. He began to charge down another ship, only to be cut off by an Arwing that flew passed and shot down his target. Watching the fighter go by, Bill could see that it was his old friend's and barked out, "Come on, Fox! That was my kill!"

Fox grinned, "Gotta be quicker than that, Bill!" the vulpine was clearly enjoying himself, zipping around the battleground like a flea, blasting enemies with ease as his fellows ducked around the desert sands which blew up into small tornadoes as they rushed close and up in a corkscrew. The thrill of flying, and the nostalgia of his youth, brought a beaming smile to the Star Fox lead's face. Flipping over and falling down, Fox hounded after three fighters that dogged for Slippy, blasting two out of the sky with rapid fire, leaving the frog to evade and defeat the last one, ducking to the left and flipping back with laser fire.

As always, Falco was keen to test himself, aggravating as many fighters as he could and leading them on a wild chase through the battlefield. Swinging by a small pocket of ships, he would taunt the pilots and after doing this three or four times, he had successfully attracted a total of twenty Venomian fighters to hunt him down. Falco zipped about the desert like a woodpecker, ducking and dodging between hostiles and friends alike, corkscrewing and rolling and spinning at any chance to make his ship as difficult to hit as possible. Just as his pursuers had lined up a killing blow, Falco suddenly dived down or up and briefly vanished from sight before reappearing with a cocky grin and witty one-liner, "Yo, bozos, overhead!" before storming down and peppering as many fighters with his Needler cannons, which pierced through seven ships and sent another two tumbling into oblivion. Falco bombed down towards the sands with another three fighters chasing after him, only to suddenly whip back up as he almost ploughed straight into the hot grains. Two chasing pilots fell for his ruse and slammed straight into the desert, downing them and wrecking their ships' engines and G-Diffusers. Only one fighter successfully stalked the Star Fox ace, but was soon caught up in the sea of matching colours, with the blue and white of Star Fox few and far between. Before the pilot could properly know Star Fox from Corneria, and from Venom and vice versa, he was blasted from below, which imploded his G-Diffusers and spat out a beautiful indigo/violet ball of fire as the Venomian ship vanished in the smoke cloud, with armour plates throwing down towards the sands. From the I/V explosion, an Arwing shot through and streaked the ball into bolts, which pirouetted across the skies of Katina and spun with the Arwing as it rolled back down. A fancy display perfect for a national celebration; not so much the battlefield. Despite this, Falco's battle wasn't over just yet; the remaining eight fighters surrounded him on all sides (just like the pirates in the Meteo asteroid field), but the bird was undeterred and ready for their next move. When they finally charged, Falco bombed down in a corkscrew, as five of the fighters smashed into one another- rupturing in a large bomb of fire and metal- and the remaining three ducked out and returned to the chase, mistaking Slippy's flyer as Falco's, and hounding the frog.

"W-Whoa! Where did you g-guys come from?" the frog nervously chattered over the communicator. The three fighters each took turns to whittle at Slippy's shields, one butting in after the other with a scatter of five shots each until the shields on the frog's fighter failed, and they hammered poor Slippy with laser after laser, chipping away at his ship's armour plates and causing massive burns. "H-Hey! I c-could use a hand over here!" As a fighter lined up the killing blow, two Arwings raced towards them; one firing from above, the other from below, the duo effortlessly eradicated Slippy's attackers. "Thanks, guys!", the frog cried as the two ship passed each other in an X.

"Don't mention it,Slip!" One fighter was Fox, and the other, to Slippy and Fox's surprise-

"Jeez! Can 'cha look after ya-self, Slip?" was Falco. Despite his chastising words, his actions spoke for him louder; he may give the frog a hard time, but he had his back.

"Damn buzzards... I could do with a little backup over here, boys!" Peppy chimed in, over in the thick of the fight. Fox quickly charged off into the fray and blasted two pursuers who buzzed around the old rabbit. "Thanks for the save there, Fox! I'm gettin' careless."

"All pilots, return to base! Third wave defeated." Bill called out as the last Venomian fighters were either picked off or fled the battlefield. The Cornerian survivors- consisting of Bill, two of his escort, six Bulldog pilots and Star Fox- regrouped and headed back to the forward base, which was still under attack from the odd straggler from the previous wave. Other than that, the battleground was silent until, "Enemy mothership sighted! All men, prepare for battle!"

"Look at the size of that thing!" Falco exclaimed.

"Andross' 'Saucerer' fortress ship. I've only seen this thing on blueprint; never thought he'd _actually_ build the damn thing!" Peppy gasped in awe of the ship. It stretched over a radius of about ten kilometres and circular all around, with large green shielding panels marked at eight directions, each allowing for twenty fighters to billow out from like a plague of locust before charging down towards the forward command base.

"Here they come!"

"All fighters, on my call... ENGAGE!" The united Cornerian force took off into the sky to meet their attacking force; within seconds of contact, explosions clouded the air as fighters were shot into oblivion, metal rained down as if it were the end of the world, and lasers bounced across the horizon at unprecedented speeds. "All available pilots, aim for the opening hatches on the underside!" Bill called out, as four hatches peeled open beneath the flying fortress, unveiling a giant laser cannon which slowly began to charge up a brilliant blue neon glow for a devastating blast. Bill knew all too well of the Saucerer's destructive power; he had seen the devastation it could cause in the desert city of Pan, which wiped out half of the Cornerian Army's garrison on Katina, including the Husky Squadron commander, Lieutenant Alsaka. Noticing his pilots and Star Fox hadn't heard him, Bill called out "Fox! The hatches on the fortress! We need to shoot them down! It's gonna fire a weapon!"

Fox turned into high gear and rolled over to the hatches under the Saucerer, peppering one hatch with his Arwing's frontal turrets. The hatch was soon punctured through, causing a small jet of fire to burst from the cannon and weakening its structure (dampening the light too), prompting the flying fortress to retract the cannon. "Keep an eye open for those hatches, Bill! I'll take 'em out!"

"Thanks, Fox!"

As the two circled the hatches under the Saucerer, the combined efforts of Husky 'n' Bulldog and Star Fox tackled the Venomian fighters. "Man, these guys do'h-know wenda quit!" Falco cried as he was hounded by a total of twenty-five fighters. "Th-These g-guys just keep coming!" Slippy croaked as he exhausted himself downing a small handful of ships at a time, only for another load to appear on his scanner. "Don't give up, boys! Trust yerselves, and we'll see this through!" Peppy proclaimed in voice teeming with dominant boasting and pride, which caused a few Cornerian pilots to cheer "HOORAH!" over the communicator, raising the mood and effort of each pilot, who dogged around their enemies with grace and hardened determination.

"Fox! The hatches are open again!"

"Let's head on in, Bill!"

Together, just like in days of old, Fox and Bill swung down towards the hatches and peppered a hatch each with their turrets, puncturing through their targets with ease and again weakening the almost dead-blue cannon, which suffered another two small bursts of fire before the weapon disappeared into the hull again. Fox and Bill pulled away and circled the port, shooting down any more fighters that came their way. After backing away, the weapon remerged and began to prime again, only for Slippy (of all people) to miss his mark with a smart bomb and shatter the last hatch, which guarded the Saucerer cannon's primary core. Slippy followed up with a distracted "Whoops!" only for Fox to cheer, "Thanks, Slip!"

"The cannon's core is exposed! Take it out with smart bombs!" Bill pulled away with eight fighters on his tail, taking shots at his engines and diving him away.

"Star Fox, on me! We need to shoot the prime core on the cannon!" Fox swung in and delivered a smart bomb to the core, which was slowly glowing brighter and brighter by the second.

"Hurry, guys! Take out that core!" Bill cried as he desperately attempted to shake his pursuers and return to no avail. He ducked and tossed and spun and rolled, but nothing would deter his chasers. Falco and Peppy flew in with a smart bomb each, and the core was now as bright as a star, lighting up the cannon too, which began to charge a blast. "There's not much time left! Hurry!" Bill swung back towards the cannon in desperation, his eight attackers hounding him for every mile.

"Slippy, where are you?" Fox cried out as he, Falco and Peppy slid up the underside of the Saucerer away from the cannon.

"Uh... guys, I've used all my smart bombs."

"What!? Since when!?" Falco squawked.

"I used two when we fought the first wave, and my last one just then! Even if I did have one left, I'm too far out now! I'd never make it in time!"

"Argh!" Bill grunted as he repeatedly took damaging hits. "I don't think my ship'll hold through."

By now, the charging ball at the end of the cannon was bulging with pure concentrated plasma, ready to strike at any moment. Suddenly, all Venomian starfighters immediately fled the site, with those caught in chase standing down and returning to dock, and the chased reversing the tables on their pursuers and escaping. A few rogue stragglers decided to test their luck and split up Fox, Falco and Peppy. Fox was left mostly unchecked, so the vulpine looked down to his dashboard and cycled through to his smart bomb launcher. He had two bombs left, but was almost too far away to return to the cannon, which was now priming to vaporise the forward command base.

Sighing, Fox swung hard back himself and thrust his boosters up to max, rocketing across the plains at almost hypersonic speeds. Infernal fires began to spew from his Arwing, and the poor starfighter began to rock violently from the speeds.

"Fox, what're ya doing, boy? You tryin' to get yerself killed!?"

Fox ignored his wise mentor. "Come on, baby..."

"Five seconds 'til that cannon fires!"

"Don't do it, Fox! Ca'mon man, pull out!"

Fox's fighter began to rattle and the heat was showing on the vulpine. "Three hundred metres..."

"Three seconds!"

"Almost there..."

"FOX! Slow down!"

"Almost there..." Fox was now almost within firing range for the smart bomb, but his Arwing had turned a white-golden colour for severe overheating, and the vulpine's fur was now dripping in sweat; nerves were a minor setback, the heat was driving him crazy. "Now..." Fox launched a smart bomb at the core just as Bill called out "Fox, get outta there NOW! THE CANNON'S FIRING!" and swung off to the side as the cannon erupted in a plume of blue mushroom bangs that ricocheted down the cannon and dispersed the plasma blast harmlessly out in a disc that cut through the horizon. The plume soon reversed into the Saucerer, and the entire mothership began to explode with pocket blasts; three to the north-east sector, four to the south sector, and so on even as the flying fortress began to tip and fall into the arid seas of Katina. All surviving Cornerian pilots were told to "EVAC AND RE-ORG, PRONTO!", with every Cornerian ship racing for the forward command base, which looked to almost be covered in sand from the Saucerer's crash. Fox raced up the underside of the fortress as it sank, the sun above beaming brightly into Fox's eyes. A damning sight for sore eyes. The Saucerer ground to a billowing halt as the inside catapulted hot clouds from the shields and through the armour plating, likely killing the thousands of Venomian pilots and crewmen aboard. The tidal wave of sand brushed over the Katina base, but a shield protected it from being swept under the tide, which calmly faltered down gently on all sides and settled.

"HOORAH!" Bill howled out in triumph. "You did it, Star Fox!"

"But where's Fox?" Peppy called out, a sob in his voice.

"I'm here, guys. Mission accomplished!"

"Said it once, I'll say it again: you are one crazy bastard, Fox McCloud!"

"Three cheers for Star Fox! Hip-Hip!"

"HOORAH!"

"HIP-HIP!"

"HOORAH!"

"HIP-HIP!"

"HOORAH!"

"Fox, ya stupid kid!" the old rabbit shouted out in exasperation.

"I thought you were a goner then, Fox!" Slippy called out.

"Well, I'll say this much; it is really hot in here now!" Fox's jest was no small boast; his Arwing looked as if it had taken a soaking in a star, still gleaming with white-gold, and sizzling in the desert.

The Cornerian forces all let out a victorious howl of laughter before Bill chuckled, "You need to take better care of yourself, Fox!"

"I'm just gonna have to go bigger and badder next time!" Fox chortled, which sent the Cornerians into howls of laughter again. "ROB, ready my station for repairs."

 _"Affirmative, Captain Fox! Return when ready!"_ ROB spluttered from the _Great Fox_ which sat in orbit around Katina.

"Hey, Bill. Fancy that catch-up now?"

"Sure, why not? Your place, or mine?"

"Let's head to _Great Fox_."

And with that, the Star Fox Team- with 'Bulldog Bill' Grey in tow- set off for the _Great Fox_ to reminisce about the old times. Within about ten minutes, Star Fox had docked in their Arwing holders with Grey landing his fighter on the hangar floor; Slippy took to cooling the fighter down, despite Fox's insistence he'd do it. The tinkering frog sent his friend away and told him to let him worry about the lead Arwing, dousing the starfighter with water from an industrial hose.

As Fox and Bill walked away with a grateful smile on their faces, the bulldog quipped "Slip's still into mechanics, ain't he?" as he wrapped a friendly arm around Fox and teasingly pulled him about. Bill was adorned in a green military flightsuit with the Army's badge (a blue sphere with three red stars and twin wings behind the sphere) sewn onto the left, with black combat boots and a flight helmet with a solid black visor, which covered Bill's eyes. The Bulldog removed his helmet and hung under his right arm, showing off the dog's head; his fur was a light grey, his eyes a muddy brown and his face a little worn, likely from a lack of sleep. His ears lightly drooped over his forehead, but didn't hang low so as to cover his eyes.

Fox dug him in the ribs and shot back, "And you're still going for top billing huh, Lieutenant Grey?"

"Hey, I've got history in the Cornerian Army going back to the Senate's founding. I ain't throwing it away just like that." Bill looked back to Fox's teammates. "So, you've got one of the best junior mechanics to come outta the Academy and Space Dynamics, a living legend and soldier-of-honour, and good ole' Falco, the puckish rogue." Bill looked back to Fox, "How come you never asked me to join you?"

Fox scoffed at the idea, "I knew how much flying the Cornerian flag meant to you. Besides, I didn't want you to go through the trouble. I took the first opportunity to fight back against Andross, Falco had been expelled for two years, and Slippy was more interested in inventing and mechanics. And Peppy... well, he wasn't gonna be doing much."

"You know I'll always lend a hand, Fox."

"I think you owe me one now, Bill!" the vulpine jested, digging the bulldog in the ribs again.

Bill dug back and chuckled, "Maybe we're about even!"

The two tossed jokes at each other from a small sitting area on the hangar, seating themselves across from each other on a couch. After a joke about their piloting skills (Bill was more focused, and Fox more erratic), the subject of talk turned to personal life. "How are things between you and Fay, Bill?"

"It's crazy, man. You know? Three years ago, we were fighting over her like cats. And now, we've been dating for about two and a half years? It's crazy!"

"What's she up to now?"

"She still flies; keeps it on the down-low, though. Her old man wasn't a fan of her decision to join the Academy, and is even less of a fan that she's dating me."

"I'd have thought that Lord Charles would happy that his only daughter has been- ahem! 'courting'- a military man of the infamous Grey family."

"Yeah, his _only daughter_ , Fox! And, the _infamous_ Grey family! We're not exactly princes of the universe."

Ah, the old days at the Corneria Flight Academy. Fox and Bill reflected on those days as the best times of their lives, even when they lost loved ones to natural causes (Bill's grandfather- Colonel Willard Grey III- passed away when Bill was ten) or the unforeseen with the death of James McCloud, and Fox's days leading up to his dropping-out. Even sharing Bill's dream of flying the Cornerian flag in the name of truth, justice and honour wasn't enough to deter the young Fox from his goal to avenge his father. But for a period, he almost gave it all up. The reason? He met Fay Charles, the only daughter and possible heir to the Charles dynasty, one of the eight ruling noble houses within Lylatian society. The cocker spaniel was thought of as an angel when she arrived on Corneria at age fifteen; her clean, trimmed white coat, piercing blue eyes, and big floppy ears made her a sight to behold. Her naivety and grace made all the boys at the Academy swoon over her, but she took a big interest with two in particular: James Fox McCloud, Jr. (a name that Fox still holds embarrassment about) and William Grey VI. After a few months fighting like children over a toy (which Fay would remind them she was **not** , with a swift bash to the head), the two friends settled their differences and allowed Fay to choose who she favoured more. Surprise: she favoured the boy of military heritage over the young vulpine who was still grasping at his plans to become an independent contracted soldier-of-fortune in order to secure some closure as to his father's needless death.

At that moment, Bill's personal communicator began to go crazy. He responded, only to hear the panicked words, _"Lieutenant Grey, state your condition!"_ of General Pepper.

"Forward base secured, General. Star Fox helped us out in a pinch. Just catching up with an old friend on R&R right now."

 _"Well then, in your own time Lieutenant, return to your post and mobilise your platoon! The battle may be over, but the war is far from finished! I want any and all Venomian stragglers wiped from Katina. Oh, and inform Star Fox to head on towards Fichina, if you can."_

"Roger that, General. Bulldog Bill out." Bill turned off his communicator and looked to his oldest friend. "You get that?"

"The General wants us heading for Fichina. No problem." The two stood and headed back to the main hangar, where Slippy was just finishing up with cooling down Fox's Arwing. The starfighter had finally returned to its usual hue of white and blue painted decals, with the red Star Fox emblem visible on both wings. "How is she, Slip?"

Slippy turned off his hose- which went limp in his hands- and looked down to his oldest friends huffing, "Cooled off and ready to take off! Just don't go flying at hypersonic again; the armour won't be able to take it again unless you can get new plating on there!"

"Thanks, Slippy! I appreciate it." Fox turned to Bill and held out his hand. "Take care Bill."

The bulldog proudly clasped his hand and threw them about. "Stay alive, you mad guy." Bill replaced his helmet (his ears popping through two holes in the top) as he gave a casual salute to the Star Fox Team before climbing his fighter and flying up and out of the hangar and back down to Katina.

"ROB! Set a course for Fichina."

 _"Right away, Captain Fox..."_


	6. Chapter 5- Fichina, Enter Star Wolf

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 5: Mission 3- Older Enemies; Crisis on Fichina, Enter Star Wolf

Leaving Katina behind, the _Great Fox_ began its voyage to the next destination on the long road between Fox McCloud and Andross. Star Fox was now journeying towards Fichina, the frozen world of the Lylat system. Devoid of vegetation aside from a four percent statistic for pine trees across its planetary mineral count, Fichina was a world showered by snow, coated in ice, and rich in mystery and wonderment. Scientists around Lylat believed that colonisation on the planet was within their grasp due to its high amounts of frozen water (also providing the cleanest waters throughout the Lylat system) and slowly rising account of trees. One thing stood in the way of this plan, however: Andross' crusade to conquer and overthrow the Cornerian government. Even the bravest of scientists and farmers would not dare approach the planet during a crisis of war.

As their mothership drifted into the G-pull of the planet, Fox stood in talks with General Pepper. "You seem to be getting the hand of this work, Fox!" the General jested, a cheery smile gleaming across his muzzle. His old and tired eyes squinted and closed often, but it was clear that H.D. Pepper was feeling a grand sense of relief from Star Fox's assistance in combating Andross' forces.

"Very funny, sir..." Fox lightly grumbled, cocking his ears back and rolling his eyes. He may have been young, but Fox wasn't a child anymore, and felt like he shouldn't be treated as such.

"I know, now back to the matter at hand! Our forces on Fichina have come under attack by Andross' garrison of fighters. The Cornerian base on Fichina holds a relatively small garrison, so I'm not too sure why Andross would have his men attack the planet. Regardless, those dastardly outlaws need driving from-******-net as soon a-****-sible."

"Say again, General? You're breaking up."

"We-*****-ve to cut this sh-***-the communications are being jam-**-d. Good luck, Star F-**-..." The direct link finally cut off, and Pepper's hologram vanished over a field of static.

"Message end. Indeed, the communications were being jammed. No doubt, Andross' forces are beginning to counterattack our efforts." ROB spluttered.

Fox sighed and scratched at his face. "They're up to something down there. We should probably hurry." Fox sped away and returned to the hangar, seated himself in his Arwing and readied his teammates for launch. ROB promptly gave them the go-ahead- managing to caution Fox on his overheated ship before launch- and the Star Fox Team charged down to the frozen planet. Zooming across the white blankets of land and rolling away from the odd tree, it wasn't long before Star Fox encountered their first sighting of Venom fighters.

"Alright! Scrubs for the taking!" Falco yelled as two fighters open fired against the mercenaries. The supporting five fighters, however, jumped at the chance to flee and sped off, leaving behind the two trigger-happy fighters. Falco dipped into a small forest and charged back into the sky, blasting one ship into dust. Fox then swung through and shot down the other fighter, who tumbled out of the sky and crashed into the snow below. "Like shootin' fish in a barrel!"

Peppy wasn't too pleased with Falco's attitude. "Keep yer head on yer shoulders, Falco! Somethin' ain't right here." The old rabbit made a grumbling noise and stared out across the snowy horizon. Something was troubling the veteran pilot.

"What's up, Peppy?"

Peppy remained silent at first. He grumbled again. "Those fighters... they were miles from the command base, and the others ran off the second you two boys fought their buddies. Why? Why would they just... _run off_ like that?"

"Don't matter now. The cowards ain't our problem. Let's move on to the base!" Falco shouted.

"Falco's right, Peppy. We should be moving on."

"Just keep an eye open, Fox. Somethin's rubbin' me wrong about this."

Star Fox continued their approach to their destination, again encountering a number of Venomian squadrons along the way; some which stayed and fought, others that continued on and ran. Peppy's paranoia and suspicion continued to rise, spreading to his lead. Fox was now beginning to wonder about the fleeing pilots. Surely Andross wasn't ordering them to _run away_ , especially on mass like this. Was he? And why was the communication system being affected during his debrief with General Pepper? Something was going down on planet Fichina, and it had yet to rear its ugly head. Andross' forces did not want anyone knowing what was happening here.

The team of pilots had been on Fichina for about three hours and after encountering another four flight squads, Star Fox finally arrived at the Fichina command base. Although it was less a base and more of a forward outpost; a ring of cheaply built huts surrounded a central broadcasting tower situated within a mountain range of four peaks on all sides, with a frozen river running beside the outpost and out towards the north and south. A small battle had been fought here, with downed starfighters and emergency parachutes strewn about the landscape, plumes of fire and smoke lazily rising into the air. Ahead, a small task force of Venomian fighters prowled the skies like vultures, almost hoping to spot a survivor so they could swoop down to eliminate them. Star Fox weren't in range for long before the Venomians- a total of twelve- charged up the mountainside to... 'greet' their adversaries.

"Fresh meat... Let's do this!"

"Falco, wait!" Peppy's warning was ignored, as ace pilot Falco charged down the mountain at lightning speed, engaging the Venomians in a mess of weaving, tossing and rolling through the air like a loose balloon. Peppy- along with Fox and Slippy- rushed in to support their comrade, who was soon out-matched by the overwhelming force. Falco may have been a good- no, a _great_ \- pilot, but he was brash and overconfident in his abilities, and against a force of twelve pilots, he was in deep trouble. Fox and Peppy took the attention of four fighters off of the bird, whilst Slippy distracted another two, all by rushing their chosen targets and peppering them with laser fire. The duo of Fox and Peppy easily picked off their fighters- Fox looping around them and shooting them down with rapid fire, and Peppy corkscrewing and blasting his targets with homing rockets- but Slippy struggled a little more. He was able of taking down one fighter by clipping the wing with his Arwing and causing the foe to plummet from the sky, but the other chaser was a little more clever; every time Slippy attempted to turn the tables and chase the fighter, the pilot would counter and ensure that he was the predator and not the prey. Falco managed to down two fighters himself with relative ease, but then the remaining survivors- three left chasing Falco and Slippy's lone pursuer- did something that the Star Fox Team weren't expecting; they ran. They ducked down close the mountains and disappeared over the peaks.

"Why'd they run off like that?" Falco queried aloud. He didn't get an answer, not that he was really looking for one.

Fox looked puzzled. He had no idea why this happened; until now, almost every Venomian fighter fought to the last, and only retreated when they were outmatched or outgunned. Here? They were running _before_ Star Fox even arrived. What gives? Then, the lead pilot of Star Fox began to receive a message from... the _Great Fox_?

"ROB? What's going on?"

 _"A bomb has been planet within the Fichina outpost. It's rigged to blow in an hour."_

"What!?" Fox exclaimed. "Guys, there's a bomb at the base. We need to deactivate it!"

Suddenly, a grizzly laugh bellowed over the communicator followed by the husky growl, "Can't let you do that, Star Fox!"

Another voice came on; this time refined and a little sadistic. "Andross has ordered us to make this planet your grave. You will not leave Fichina alive!"

A third; a deep gravelly snarl, "Peppy, long time no see, old buddy! Bah ha hah ha hah!"

"PIGMA!" Peppy angrily barked. The old rabbit was almost face-to-face with the old Star Fox traitor, Pigma Dengar!

"Enemies of Lord Andross are my enemies too! You won't stand in our way!" A final nasally whine screeched over the communicator.

"Oh, great. Just the people I wanted to see: Star Wolf! Slippy; head down to the outpost and locate that bomb, shut it down! Me, Falco and Peppy will deal with these bozos." Fox proclaimed, readying himself to the legendary duel against Star Wolf, the notorious mercenary band whom Fox had a tense, albeit brief, history with. Slippy broke away and headed down to the snow, preparing to find the Venomian bomb in the valley.

"That's right, little froggy! Stick to the lily pads, it's the only thing you're good for!" the nasally voice hissed, resulting in a Needler shot cutting through his wing.

"Slip's a bettah pilot than you'll ever be, Andrew!" Falco shouted as he blew passed.

"NNNNNNEEERAAAAGH!" Andrew screamed. "I'm better than you could ever dream, stupid bird!"

"Shut up, Monkeyvitch." the grizzled voice bellowed. A grey and red 'Wolfen' fighter sped towards Fox's Arwing, and the voice let out another cocky laugh. "Still doin' Pepper's dirty work, baby McCloud? How adorable!" the Wolfen unleashed a shower of lasers against Fox, who ducked down low before speeding off into the sky.

"You're going down, Wolf!"

"Still think you can take _me_? Ah, you're melting my heart, kiddo." Wolf laughed as he sped down to meet Fox, playing chicken with the young pilot. The two steadily got closer and closer until they were almost metres from colliding until Fox panicked and swung away, barely managing to brush passed his enemy, the notorious mercenary and outlaw Wolf O'Donnell. "Come on, McCloud! You've gotta have more guts in ya to dance with Star Wolf!"

Fox let out a frustrated growl and looped back on himself, locking Wolf in his sights and spraying laser at the enemy Wolfen. Only a few shots managed to hit, and the rival mercenary was easily able to fly off unhindered. Fox growled again, charging forward as Wolf's ship almost vanished from sight against a small woodland, only to appear from thin air by swooping across Fox's cockpit screen, startling the young pilot and forcing him to roll down before ascending to chase Wolf again. During his furious switching game of cat-and-mouse with Wolf, Fox was shocked to discover an attacker from behind; two shots hit directly behind him, blasting his shields and rocking the ship around, giving the youngster some motion sickness as the blood in his body was forcibly sloshed around him. Looking down to his scanner, Fox could clearly see his pursuer slowly gaining on him, creeping ever close as he attempted to keep up with Wolf ahead. As the ambusher came within ten metres, Fox pulled up and flipped over his attacker, who cried out "You can't do that!", resuming the chase with his attacker- Andrew Monkeyvitch- open for attack. Andrew's battered Wolfen was missing half its wing and was barely staying airborne, leaving the boastful and woefully terrible pilot vulnerable to an attack. Fox began to tease his prey, taking pot shots around the ship ahead.

"Get away from me, you scoundrel!" Andrew cried as Fox began fire. "You can't make a mockery of me! I'm the nephew of Andross!" the cowardly monkey cried again as he failed to dodge Fox's next barrage of fire, taking three shots to his fighter's G-Diffusers. "Back off! I... I'll kill you, Fox! Don't... don't think I won't! I'm not afraid of YOU!"

Wolf cut in with his vicious growl, "Don't talk if ya can't walk, Monkeyvitch!" He then swung down and back, turning his fire alarmingly on his fellow pilot. Fox pulled away to avoid stray fire as Wolf began to fire upon his teammate.

Four shots delivered a direct hit to Andrew's cockpit before the snow monkey pulled away. "NNEERAAGHH! What the hell are you doing, Wolf!? Have you gone mad!? I'm the legendary pilot of the Androssian Empire! I'm-"

"An embarrassment to the Cornerian Flight Academy, and to your uncle's 'empire'! Prove your talk, Monkeyvitch, and get your ass back in the fire!"

Enraged, Andrew slowly rose back into the sky and fired at Fox from below. However, having just witnessed Wolf's surprise attack and overheard their conversation, the Star Fox lead predicted every step of Andrew's next move. When the zealous monkey cried out, "For the glory of Andross!", and began to fire, Fox zoomed across the sky to avoid Andrew's spraying fire, effortlessly weaving in and out of stray fire like a fish swimming through water. Fox then swung down to meet Andrew, who flew towards him in a game of chicken. Fox knew that Andrew was weak-willed and would give out easily, particularly if Fox made an erratic movement as the two pilots closed in on each other. Andrew called out, "I just saw you and Wolf try this. You're not gonna win against me, sissy!" but just before the ten metre marker, Fox began to spin his Arwing in place, gunning towards Andrew like a drill. His gambit paid off, and the startled Andrew screamed in terror before barrelling away, only to cry out, "UNCLE ANDROSS!" as another Arwing crossed over and shot him down with another Needler laser.

"Scratch one schmuck!" Falco barked as he corkscrewed and flipped back into the fray, zooming back up the mountain to reach a Wolfen fighter off in the distance. Fox watched his ace charge away and had a brief moment to just gaze upon the situation; Falco was hounding after one Star Wolf pilot up around the peaks, Andrew was now tumbling from the skies and Peppy and that swine Pigma Dengar chased each other like wild animals in the air above the outpost. And down on the ground somewhere, Slippy was running around the Cornerian Army's outpost, looking for the bomb planted there by the Venomian forces, which was set to detonate in- _"Fifty minutes until detonation."_ \- as ROB spluttered over the communicator.

Suddenly, Fox was altered to his scanner, as a homing missile was slowly closing in on him. Springing to action, he swung down to the ground and boosted across the snow, which kicked up two white blankets with a scorched black strip running below the Arwing. The missile continued to advance on Fox, who pulled up and flipped over, charging up towards Wolf. The veteran mercenary cockily quipped, "You can do better than that, McCloud!" and charged down towards him again. Fox was determined not to run this time; if he could just prove he was hardier, then he could have no problem panicking Wolf. Then he realised that he could actually spin this to his advantage by charging at Wolf until the last minute, dodging away without changing direction (so that the homing missile wouldn't change course) and allowing the missile to crash into its sender. Fox grinned at the delight of this almost devilish plan and charged down his prey with blinding speed; twenty metres came and passed, fifteen metres blew by, ten metres and-

 _ **BOOM!**_

The missile detonated behind Fox before he and Wolf could even reach the final turning point; a fiery ball erupted from behind the Arwing, causing a shockwave to strike the rear of the Star Fox lead, releasing him from the heat of the moment and taking another knock to his shields. The Wolfen fighter then spun around the Arwing as if like a ballet dancer and dove into the blast area, emerging on the other side safe and sound as streams of smoke and fire trailed from the Wolfen's wings. As the fire ball dissipated, Wolf spotted Andrew was he finally slammed into the snows below, ruffling through the wilderness over a two hundred metre stretch, billowing through the snow and smacking down the odd tree, before grinding to a halt in a heap of burnt metal and wreckage, as the G-Diffusers suddenly triggered a small blast and soon, the whole ship was ablaze, drifting fire and smoke gently into the air. _Damn. That was a good ship._ Wolf thought to himself as he looped back on himself and soared over the missile's bomb after his young adversary Fox McCloud, only for the vulpine to meet him halfway with a small barrage of lasers, hitting Wolf straight against the cockpit. Wolf grinned in amusement from the surprise attack, as he cost him his charge and caused him to slide down to reorganise his attack.

"Not bad... Not bad at all!" the grizzled hunter cackled as he pulled back and charged for Fox once more...

 _Meanwhile..._

Above the Cornerian Army's outpost on Fichina, old comrades turned embittered enemies dogged after one another, each performing figure 8s as they swooped up and down around the broadcasting tower. The rabbit and pig shot through the air at speeds so ferocious that their dogfight could barely be called that; it was a vicious hunt, as one played predator and the other the prey, before turning the tables and one mercenary became the hunter and his target became his next meal. The rage and almost animalistic instinct between these two veteran pilots was... frightening, to say the least. Peppy had experienced some rage back in Sector Y related to this pointless war for the Lylat system and his old team's betrayal, and the old rabbit had hoped he would see this seemingly endless war over before he ever saw his "old buddy" again. But fate was not kind this day, and Peppy was now face-to-face (or as close to that as possible from the seat of a starfighter) with the traitor to the old Star Fox Team and his old colleague, the infamous Pigma Dengar. A cunning and ruthless fighter, Peppy- along with James- had met Pigma during their early days in the Cornerian Flight Academy, and even then the swine was known for his guile and aggressive style of fighting, both in the air and on foot. The three even joined forces during the insurgency before the exile of Andross (then Arthur Monkeyvitch) to the barren world Venom. Pigma's sly nature saw him through countless situations, often more dire and hopeless from the one previous, such that Dengar was known throughout Lylat as the "Elusive Shroud", due to his near-escapes and very enigmatic personality. Few could understand why Pigma was selected to join the Cornerian military, and fewer still could understand how his _volunteering_ was successful. Sheer luck? Quick wit? Or maybe he was a different enough man back then. Who knows? All anyone would remember him for now was the heinous betrayal of the Star Fox Team, his two oldest and most faithful friends Peppy Hare and James F. McCloud, the interstellar government of the Lylat system, and the people who could have once seen the backstabbing swine as a hero. And what, on the surface at least, was his reasoning? Money. **Money.** Pigma threw his past acts and fame away all for some petty cash. And that was what enraged Peppy the most; not the horrors he and Pigma (and James and all the other soldiers) did during the insurgency, not turning away from the Cornerian military to become guns-for-hire (which Pigma actually supported!), not even some of the less credible or honourable jobs during the 10 Years of Recovery. Those Peppy would have understood better. A hell of a lot better. But no. Pigma tossed it all away, simply because Andross offered him the cheap cut of quick money **.**

As they swung around above the campsite and out over the river, Pigma called in over the radio, "Still lookin' good, Peppy! Hehehe...! Keepin' them old bones loose, ain't cha? Bah ha hah ha hah!" a mad chortle bellowing over the communicator.

Peppy- snarling from his Arwing- snapped back in rage, "You'll pay for what you did to Jim, you backstabbing murderer!" Peppy was in a deep dark place. One he seemingly wouldn't come back from. At least, not right now.

"You remember that night, huh bud? I remember it like it was yesterday..." As the pig reminisced about the betrayal, Peppy shot at him, getting some clean hits in, but not enough to down his enemy. Pigma swung about, dodging most of the shots before continuing, "... Yep! Them were the days, Peppy. You, me... Jim... Ahhh... Ya know... Ole' Jimmy screamed **REAL NICE** when his Arwing went blammo! Did you know that? HE- HAHAHAHAHAHA! And then, ye-ya know what happened? I bled the old sap, _real_ slow, and-" Pigma let out a sadistic blabber of laughs and snorts before finishing, "and- and he screamed the damn walls down! AH- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, ya shoulda been there, Peppy! SO YOU COULD JOIN HIM!" The swine howled in laughter again, wiping tears made from pure bile from his blank sodden eyes.

Peppy flared his teeth in pure, unbridled, unadulterated wrath. He didn't just want to kill Pigma. He _needed_ to. He _relished_ at the chance. "I swear down on my beloved's grave, the love of mah life, and Jim's memory, YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS PLANET ALIVE, YOU DAMN DIRTY SWINE!" Peppy switched his main guns to rockets and fired his entire stock of five after Pigma, who gleefully laughed as the missiles homed in on his position as weaved back on himself and charged for his old friend...

 _In the mountains..._

Up high in the peaks surrounding the site, the last two pilots swooped over the curves and down the banks of the mountains. Falco Lombardi chased down the last member of Star Wolf, the infamous assassin known as 'Kaczni', or Vanish in Neo-Lylatian as translated from Old Papish, the abandoned native tongue on the outlaw planet Papetoon. 'Kaczni' was once a ruthless killer, trained by forces unknown and recruited into the Star Wolf Team during the 10 Years of Recovery after Andross' exile. Not much was known about the mysterious enigma that was Kaczni; few had ever seen his face, and fewer still knew his name. Falco counted himself among the few who knew him, and that was dangerous knowledge. Why? Falco had caught Kaczni in the act and remembered his face, managing to pin a name to him years later:

"Been a while, Leon Powalski." Falco snarled as he chased his nemesis.

The assassin- a chameleon- scoffed and retorted, "So you finally learned my identity. Well done... now prepare to die!" dropping his forward motion and allowing Falco to romp passed, boosting up again and peppering Falco with devilish lasers.

"Gah!" the bird grunted as each shot hit Falco's Arwing and cut through his shields. "Dirty trick, Powalski!" Falco pulled up and charged back up the mountain, cockpit facing down, chasing straight towards his opponent.

"Do you have any idea who I am, child!?" Leon growled as Falco continued his suicide run. "I am the legendary Kaczni, the great Leon! I have no fear, and you lack the nerve for such an attack!"

Falco boosted up at double speed, cackling with the aggressive call, "Try me!"

Leon's squinted eyes bulged from anticipation, and he pulled down to the right to avoid a collision, with Falco hot on his heels with a round of Needler lances, striking through the Wolfen's shields with ease. The chameleon wasn't done yet, however, and quickly pulled up and over Falco's head in a somersault to avoid any further assaults whilst his shields recovered. Over the communicator, Falco heard ROB chant, _"Thirty-five minutes until detonation."_ as he climbed the slopes of the mountains after Leon. _Come one, Slip. Kill the bomb anytime now!_ Falco pondered to himself. Slippy was unusually quiet over the radio, foregoing any commentary or update on the situation. Despite the bird's worries (not that he would ever admit them to anyone), Falco trusted in Slippy to get the job done; he was the best shot at defusing the bomb on the team, and his silence could be him simply focusing on the job. Falco pushed his worried thoughts out of his mind and returned to his enemy ahead, who continued to climb the mountain. Within just a few minutes, the Arwing and Wolfen were tossing and turning in the skies surrounding the highest peak of the mountain range, flipping into the now darkened skies of Fichina before slowly falling back down towards the earth and charging around to get their next advantage over the other. Leon would allow Falco the chance to close the gap before dropping down sharply and corkscrewing below the Star Fox ace and blasting him as he ascended; Falco would charge like a bull to a tarp against Leon at full speed (double in Falco's case), before spinning like a drill and firing Needler shots straight at Leon, whose Wolfen fighter took the shots directly head on, which again would cripple his shields and even scorch his ship when the shields failed during the barrage.

"Are you even capable of shooting me down, child? How pathetic!" Leon hissed in his suave yet chilling tone.

"I'm gonna fry ya carcass, ya cold-blooded killa!" Falco snapped back, firing a smart bomb after the assassin. Leon's reputation made him a despised entity, but many would never dare to upset the infamous assassin if they knew him. One would wonder, just why Falco hated Leon Powalski so much. "You took everything from me, Powalski! Now, I'm gonna take you down!"

"As I recall, I did you a favour by eliminating your f-."

"Fez may have been an asshole, but he didn't deserve to die, not like that!"

"On the contrary, he was a dangerous mob lord, and a crook. He deserved to die. You were an innocent child, so you lived. That's something of a rare honour, you know; you're my first witness to survive, Lombardi."

"You're goin' down, Powalski!"

The two looped into an endless circuit of figure 8s, shooting after each other with hatred in their hearts. Their G-Diffusers pushed to the maximum to reduce the amount of gravity that constantly shifting backwards and forwards in their infinity looping placed on them. The constant moving had a benefit though; they each struggled to land a hit on each other, entering into a never-ending stalemate. One would eventually have to break away, leaving himself vulnerable to attack. After what felt like a lifetime spinning in circles, Falco broke off from the dance and thundered down the mountain, with Leon in hot pursuit of his prey. The chameleon fired after the bird, who pulled up into the sky and looped over the assassin who charged ahead down the mountain. Falco dropped in behind and open fired on his enemy, scorching a hole in the enemy Wolfen's wing.

"Blasted bird!"

"Say your prayers, Powalski!"

As Falco readied his final lance, a sudden transmission came in from Peppy: "Mayday! Mayday! I'm hit! I'm hit! Goin' down!"

"Peppy, what happened!?" Fox chimed in from the frontier. The young vulpine was not prepared to hear those dreaded words, and his voice was almost a cry of shock and horror.

"Sorry, boys... I let my anger blind me... Pigma got the better of me, and he's gunnin' for one of you now!" Down at the outpost, the faint silhouette of an Arwing tumbled from the skies and ploughed into the soft snow before chomping through the freezing river, casting frozen water up and onto the snow-trodden land. The starfighter had taken one hell of a beating, covered in scorch marks, exposed plating and even a burnt-out G-Diffuser. Peppy had fought well, but Pigma was too quick for him; he caught Peppy out on his tricks, even used some on him, and gained the upper hand. Peppy was down and out of the fight, and Pigma Dengar was now closing in on the battle between Star Fox ace Falco Lombardi and Star Wolf assassin Leon Powalski.

"So, you're one of the brats Peppy flies with now... Heh! Don't look like much to me!" the fat swine chortled as he gave chase, almost entirely shoving Leon off his target.

Falco raced across the snowy land below, with Pigma running after him and Leon ahead in the distant horizon. "We'll see about that, fat boy!" Falco flipped up and over, only for the pig to hit him with a short-range EMP bomb. "What the-!?"

"Bah ha hah ha hah! Still waitin' on ya, birdbrain!" Pigma cackled in his deep throaty grumble.

Angered, Leon flipped over and charged back, "Leave the child, Dengar. He's mine!"

"Awww, come on, Leon!" the obese pig whined. "I've got a reputation to uphold!"

"Damn your reputation! This is a matter of honour! This boy knows my face, knows my name... And holds a vendetta. This is a matter between he and I. And no-one shall stand in the way of our final battle. Not even you, Dengar." the chameleon's voice was a nightmarish mix between a threatening hiss and gentlemanly boast. And it was enough for Pigma to relent on.

"Fine! Take down the birdie, if it'll make ya feel betta!"

Falco was in trouble; most of his systems had been fried from the EMP that Pigma fired; good thing this fight wasn't in outer space, or Falco would likely have suffocated by now. His shields were completely dead, his cannons failed to fire, his scanner non-responsive and his G-Diffusers slowed him down like dead weight. All the bird could do, was fly around lazily until his systems rebooted, leaving him a sitting duck to two dangerous pilots, who both flew in after him and cut his Arwing through, with Leon striking the final blow that took Falco out of the skies.

Amidst his tumbling, Falco was just able to harness himself into the seat to reduce personal injury and shout out (to no one), "This is gonna hurt!" When he just about to grind into the ground, only one thing came to the bird's mind to say. "Ooooooooooooh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

 _Across the plains..._

"Falco, do you read!?" Fox cried out over the communicator. "Peppy, can you hear me? Slippy? ROB? Anyone?"

"Slippy here. I'm a little busy defusing the bomb!"

"*COUGH* *COUGH*! Ugh... Peppy here. I'm gonna try and call in ROB for pickup... *COUGH* *COUGH*!"

 _"Twenty minutes until detonation."_

 _Oh man..._ Fox sighed to himself. He brushed his hand through his crew-cut of white fur that ran between his ears. Half his team was down, and the bomb in the outpost was less than half an hour from detonation. To make matters worse, not only was his dogfight with Wolf O'Donnell becoming stagnant- with neither the fox nor the wolf gaining the upper hand- but now Wolf's associates were on their way to end it all. Fox's scattered mind was shook back to reality when a laser bolt slammed in the cockpit window, as a Wolfen zoomed past. Fox bolted up in his Arwing and charged after the Wolfen, only for another fighter to shoot from behind.

"Heheheh... Looks like you're gonna be joinin' daddy real soon, Fox!" a villainous swine's voice chuckled over the communicator.

Fox was then shot from the side. "I told you this place shall become your grave." a sadistic lizard's hiss.

Finally, the fleeting Wolfen ahead reversed its thrust and charged back towards the surrounded Arwing. "You're good... but I'm better. Now!"

With that order, all three Wolfen fighters blasted their Arwing prey with rockets, cutting through the starfighter like a heavy cleaver through a hunk of meat; strong, swift and deadly. The surviving Arwing dropped from the skies, with Fox McCloud gripping the controls so tight from fear and horror to his defeat that aches ran through both his arms. His Arwing didn't tumble from the skies like Falco's and Peppy's did, but instead dove across the horizon nose first into the soft snow below them. For the first time, Star Fox had experienced a defeat.

Star Fox had lost.

"An engaging battle, wouldn't you say, Captain Wolf?" Leon proclaimed over their communicator. Wolf remained silent, staring intently at Fox's crash site.

"Hey, the runt's still alive! Heh he heh! Persistent little-! Let's finish him off!" Pigma began to fly down to the crash site only-

"Back off!" Wolf barked, startling Pigma who stopped his descent. "Leon! Pigma! Get outta here, Star Fox is mine!"

"As you wish, Captain." Leon replied, a gentleman's soft tone. "Come now, Dengar."

"Grraggh! I wanna kill Jim's kid!" Pigma whined. "I wanna! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!"

"Quit your crying, Pigma, and get the hell outta here! Only Wolf O'Donnell can take out McCloud!" Wolf began to descend, approaching the steaming wreckage with oddly cautious speed whilst his squadmates took to the skies and shot off into the space beyond.

 _At the crash site of Arwing One..._

The crash of his Arwing had shook Fox, like an earthquake had been localised in his head. As he was shot down by Star Wolf, his G-Diffusers had been out, and the crash of his ship had thrown him through a loop. As he stirred from the crash, his head pounded him back to consciousness. His ship was on fire, but not likely to explode, with the fire being contained on the body of the Arwing and not close to the G-Diffusers or the engines at the back. Fox opened his cockpit with an emergency release and pulled himself from the wreckage weakly. His arms ached from his tightened grip as he fell, his legs were like jelly as he shifted them onto the body of his Arwing and his vision blurred, as if a blizzard had rolled in. His ears rung a whining tune, disorientating him further. A light snowstorm filtered in; snow drops fell from the skies and slowly blanketed the torn landscape. Now weakly stood on the wings of his Arwing, Fox slowly slumped over and slid from his ship, landing softly in the snow, weak from fatigue. He huffed and puffed as he laid weakly in the snow, his breath slowly becoming visible with each huff of air.

He had almost drifted off and passed out in the snow if not for the arrival of an starfighter engine humming in the air. From his brief rest, Fox's ears had stopped ringing, but he was still weak and shaken from the crash. He slowly ruffled his head through the snow beneath him, looking up through glazed eyes as a starfighter landed about ten metres from the crash. The cockpit opened, and out from within, a wolfish rogue lunged onto the body before dropping into the snow, bending his knees but landing cleanly on his feet. The wolf chomped through the snow and came a little closer, shouting at Fox to rise to his feet. The vulpine complied with a weak response, slowly pressing his arms into the white coat, raising one leg into an angle and leaving the other dangling behind him. Fox heaved from exhaustion with every action, until he finally hoisted himself onto his own two feet, briefly resting himself back on his Arwing before standing on his own. Blood stained his ears and face, and his eyes stared out into the range as if he were blind. His arms lazily hung beside him and his legs barely kept him upright.

Wolf stopped walking at about a five metre marker and crossed his arms. The seasoned merc stood tall in a black jumpsuit, a deep violet leather jacket with three spikes from the shoulders, dark mud-like leather biker gloves, and black biker boots with a white skull emblem on each knee. A gun-belt was wrapped around his waist with a blaster pistol hanging from the holster. His dark grey fur made him an intimidating foe to behold in the living breathing flesh, and his single blood red eye almost shone through the darkened night of Fichina, and cut through the falling snow like a lighthouse beacon. And it was just that: a single eye. His other eye on the left was blotted out with a black patch that looped over his head and through his own crew-cut between his ears, flattening the hair that was there in a small patch before looping back round the side of his face. Some light scarring marked the skin around the eye socket, and fur slowly grew there again. After standing still and silent for about five minutes just watching his vulpine prey, Wolf let out an amused laugh.

"You're James' son, all right. Stubborn 'till the end!" Wolf whipped his right hand down to his belt and pulled his blaster out. A freakish hand cannon with a blade at the muzzle, the blaster shot a devilish green bolt at Fox, who slapped a device on his belt and vanished from his position as the bolt was about to strike him, hitting his ship instead and causing a minor burn. Wolf pulled a face as to Fox's disappearance before recognising a bluish trail that faded away as Fox moved. Looking off to his left, Wolf saw Fox struggling to stand after moving such a distance in such a short amount of time, so fast that even Wolf couldn't see him. "That's one hell of a party trick, baby McCloud."

Fox's breath was catching up with him and he carefully mumbled, "Personalised G-Diffuser... I can manipulate my own gravity to move at speeds faster than light... and even block and deflect certain projectiles and attacks that come my way... I call it the Reflector..."

Wolf bore a devil's grin. "Neat. But playtime's over, kiddo!"

Wolf charged forwards and swooped down with his blaster, slashing Fox across his chest. The young vulpine yelped in pain, as blood quickly stained his chest and jumpsuit. Fox took a stumble as Wolf readied his next strike, but Fox was ready. He slapped his Reflector and crossed his arms above his head in an X as Wolf connected, blasting the hulking hunter away. His enemy off-guard, Fox ran up close and leapt into the air with a spinning roundhouse, cutting Wolf in the chops and swinging off into the snow. Fox landed lazily and slumped down to one knee.

 _"Ten minutes until detonation."_

Wolf rose back to his feet- enraged from such a cheap shot- and shot his blaster again, coughing out another green bolt after Fox. The vulpine hit his Reflector and cast his hands out in front of him, absorbing the projectile into the Reflector's blue energy shield and shooting it back out towards Wolf, who dove out of the way as the bolt flew back at him at blinding speed. Fox sped up to Wolf with his speed attack and slammed a fist across Wolf's jaw, digging into his abdomen with a flurry of strikes and then topping it off with a dropkick to the chest. Fox crashed into the snow, exhausted, and Wolf toppled over and slammed down hard on his back, loosening the grip on his blaster as he fell. Wolf smiled in the thrill of the fight and the heat of the moment, excited that James McCloud's son was as fiery and fearless as he was.

Oh yes, Wolf O'Donnell and James McCloud had history together. Rivals in most things; approaches to life, piloting skills, hand-to-hand prowess, even... romantic exploits. But their rivalry was once something else entirely, something more akin to an odd friendship between the level-headed vulpine and the hot-blooded lupine. But something changed that; something snapped between the two that forced them apart, and the two became bitter rivals, wanting nothing to do with one another, and both likely wishing for the other's demise. Five years ago, that wish came true... for Wolf, as James McCloud gave his life on Venom to allow Peppy the chance to escape Andross' wrath. Rumour had it that an earlier division of Star Wolf was in Andross' employ at the time, and that Wolf was actually there at James' death. The truth, however, was something that was hidden. Something that Wolf would seemingly take to his grave.

Reflecting back on his life and rivalry with James McCloud, Wolf snarled and rose back to his feet and charged over to the exhausted Fox, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and yanking him from the ground. Wolf slugged him across the face... Once... Twice... Three times... Four times... Five times... _Six!_... _Seven!_... _Eight times_ before slamming the vulpine down on his back, lifting him up again and tossing him across the fields. Fox slammed down in a heap of snow, blood now gushing from his nose, and his body aching all over. Wolf had even cut him below his left eye, swelling up his eye and making sight difficult. Fox stood again and swung for Wolf as the towering brute approached him; Wolf easily dodged and kneed Fox in the gut, tipping him over his leg and tossing him to the floor again. Wolf prepared to stomp down hard on Fox's torso, but the young pup slipped away as the boot came down and swooped the back of Wolf's legs and knocking him down.

 _"Five minutes until detonation."_

Wolf sprung off his hands and tumbled back on his feet, whilst Fox hung his arms low as he panted heavily and circled Wolf, who stood anchored in the snow, waiting for Fox to strike. Fox howled, leaping at Wolf and latching onto his back, sinking his teeth into Wolf's neck. Blood spilled into Fox's mouth- a disgusting salty taste- as Wolf howled in pain and furiously tossed Fox to the ground- slicing the fox on his jacket spikes- and pummelled the vulpine with hammer blows straight to the muzzle.

 _"One minute until detonation."_

Fox kicked Wolf to the back of the head, shunting the big wolf off him and allowing the vulpine to stand again. The cut below his eye now gushed with blood, and a cut above the eye had been to bleed too. Blood stained the fox's orange and white fur, and blood poured from his mouth; both his own, and Wolf's from his vicious bite, whilst his chest had been ripped to shreds by Wolf's jacketed spikes and the bayonet at the end of his blaster. Tired, Fox spat out a clump of meaty blood into the snow, which glided through the air like a bullet before resting peacefully in the ground. Wolf stood ahead, padding his wounded neck and gazing into his palm to find his blood there. Wolf was surprised that Fox would resort to a bite attack to harm him.

"Not afraid to get your hands dirty, are ya kid? Or should I say..." He motioned to his bloodied hand. "not afraid to get your mouth dirty, huh?" Wolf had taken a cut to the cheek below his lone eye, and blood was smeared all over his muzzle.

 _"Thirty seconds until deton-."_

"There! I've got it!" Slippy cheerfully proclaimed over the communicator. "Guys, I did it! I deactivated the bomb! Mission accomplished!"

"Good goin', Slippy!" Peppy cheered. Falco and Fox didn't respond; Fox was in the midst of his fight with Wolf, and Falco was likely lost in the snow somewhere.

Fox began to smile. It was weak at first, but soon beamed into a proud and powerful grin. "Looks like your bomb was short a fuse, Wolf. We win." Fox raised his hand to his blaster and pulled it from its holster at his leg. "I'm taking you in." the vulpine muttered weakly.

Wolf stood on in silence. His attitude and enigma did not falter, his blood-knight grin still marked his face. Something was up, and it couldn't have been good. "I told you, McCloud..." Wolf flicked his arm out and produced a small device. "...Playtime... **IS**... **OVER!** " He depressed a trigger on the device, and suddenly- to Fox's late horror- a thundering _**BANG!**_ echoed throughout the valley. Hot fire erupted into the night sky and cast over the valley with a dark cloud of smoke. The bomb was rigged to blow on a remote detonator, and Wolf had the trigger the entire time!

"SLIPPY!" Fox cried out with all his strength, howling like a madman who had lost his way in life from grief, regret and the passage of time. Fox's horror turned to rage as he fixed his blaster back on Wolf, howled out "YOU BASTAAARRRRRD!" and fired a red bolt of plasma after Wolf, who ducked around each shot, swiped the blaster from Fox's hand and tossed it aside, before booting Fox in the chest and punting the downed vulpine in the stomach repeatedly.

Wolf punted his enemy in the belly, all the while howling in laughter from his victory. Star Fox hadn't just lost to Star Wolf. Star Wolf had beaten Star Fox to a pulp. Fox jerked violently from every punt he took; five punts, he was feeling a burn deep inside him. Ten punts, his torso was on fire. Twenty punts, his ribs began to shake. Thirty punts, he could barely breathe. Forty punts, and then it all came out... Fox's mouth ruptured with blood and vomit, last night's dinner and all the red stuff he had swallowed during this brutal fight. Though it was less a fight, and more a vicious skirmish. Wolf stopped for a while as Fox gagged the bile that coughed from his mouth. The poor vulpine couldn't stop gagging for air; his lungs were alight, his stomach in piercing agony, and all he could do was writhe in pain. Fox tried to curl into a ball, but the burning pit in his stomach was too great, forcing him to stretch out again to quell the pain. Wolf panted above and started to punt Fox again. Wolf got to twenty-two punts when he heard the cock of a chaingun behind him.

"You let the boy go now, Wolf." the voice of Peppy snarled calmly through the snowy shower. The old rabbit held a chaingun- modified with a chainsaw grip and handguard below to better support it- aimed straight at the devil wolf's back.

Wolf grinned and lifted Fox up by the collar of his jumpsuit. "Long time, no see, Peppy." Wolf turned- still smiling- as he held Fox's bloodied and broken body in his grasp. "That's a little overkill, ain't it?"

"Let Fox go now, and I won't have to drill twenty-five thousand holes into yer carcass."

"You'd really shoot me? You don't have the guts..." Wolf prepared to fly a fist into Fox's face, only for the chaingun to rev up and a spray of a hundred shards of plasma spat out to the side of Wolf, shocking the wounded lupine.

"That's yer only warning, Wolf. Now put 'im down."

Wolf lowered his free hand and slowly rested Fox in the snow. Before he stood, however, he leaned over and whispered into Fox's ear, "We win, kiddo." Wolf slowly rose from over Fox, and delivered a final punt: straight across Fox's face, bursting the blood vessel in the vulpine's eye and turning it a horrific red. Peppy readied his chaingun and began to fire, only for Wolf to hold his arms in the air and back away slowly. He recovered his blaster from the snow and returned to his Wolfen fighter slowly, leaving the scene without kicking up more of a fuss.

Peppy depressed a trigger on his chaingun, which pack up nicely around the magazine and allowed the now case-like box to hang from a sling on his body. The old rabbit- fur burnt from his own crash, but only in small blotches- chomped quickly over to Fox.

Peppy took the arm closest to him and carefully pulled Fox back onto his feet. "Come on now, boy. It's all right, come on now..." the rabbit soothingly muttered as he swung Fox's arm around his neck and supported his young friend.

Fox wheezed in pain, his free arm hung low from fatigue. He was practically blind in his left eye and his right eye was brimmed with blood from Wolf's final savage punt to the face. Blood stained him all over, his clothes torn to shreds. The youngster looked as if he had survived a gang attack, all done by _one man_. "Ugh.. uh oh-" Fox wretched forward and gaped his mouth, but nothing sprung out.

Peppy patted his back, keeping his grip on the fox to keep him upright. "Come on, son, get it up now..."

"Ugh.. Ugh!" Fox wretched again, and a toxic mix of blood and vomit sprung out, tumbling into the cold snow and splashing onto Fox's boots.

"That's it, son, get it all up..."

"Hurrggh!" Vomit poured down, staining the snow and burning it away. Fox hung forward for a while, spitting randomly and huffing for air. Fox weakly rested his loose arm on his knee, huffing some more and pondering his situation. His entire team had been beaten black and blue by their rivals Star Wolf, Fox especially beaten badly, the Cornerian outpost bombed to smithereens, and his fellow pilots- he muttered something before standing up again.

"What was that, son?" Peppy queried.

"Slippy..." Fox weakly spluttered. "Slippy... and Falco... they're... they're-"

"Don't worry about them. By some miracle, Slippy ran his little legs for his Arwing the second he deactivated the bomb and managed to get airborne before the base was blown sky high. As for Falco, his fighter's crash landing systems were fried. Crazy bastard jumped out as he was goin' down, crashed into the trees down the valley. Seems he's forgotten he can't fly."

Fox weakly coughed, "We lost... Peppy... We lost..."

"Now, don't talk like that, son. The battle may be lost, but the war is far from over. And we're all still alive. If Star Wolf can't hold us down, Andross hasn't got a chance in hell. Come on now, son... Let's get back to the _Great Fox_..."

 _Above Fichina..._

The still active Star Wolf pilots- Wolf O'Donnell, Leon Powalski and Pigma Dengar- slowly drifted across the Lylat system back towards Venom. Leon and Pigma tossed laughs and insults between each other, howling in the glory of victory, but Wolf was silent throughout their stupor. Wolf looked back on this victory; that's what it was, right? A victory? Yes, it was. But why didn't it feel like it? Wolf didn't feel as if he had just won a battle, or even outclassed his greatest rivals in Star Fox. He felt like something he hadn't felt like for a very long time: a thug. Not a soldier-of-fortune, a gun-for-hire. Just a mindless brutal thug. He hadn't just defeated his rivals. He had _beaten_ their lead pilot to within an inch of his life. _**Personally**_. That stuck with Wolf more than he was comfortable with. He may have had beef with Fox's father way back when, but this? This wasn't any real vengeance. The Star Wolf lead had just beaten the poor kid halfway to an early grave, over a plot of revenge five years too late, and against the _wrong person entirely_. Wolf gazed out into the expanse of space, zoned out from reality and pondering what he had done.

"Captain Wolf, are you alright?" Leon queried over the communicator, bringing Wolf back from his lone state.

"Yeah..." he quietly mumbled, failing to even trigger his communicator to respond back to Leon.

"Captain?"

"I said I'm fine!" He angrily barked down his communicator. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't let it get to ya, Wolf. Those kiddies deserved that little eye-opener! And Ole' Peppy... Heh! Shame he ain't a dog, cos he had to put down like one! Hehehe-"

"Shut your damn mouth for once, Pigma!" Wolf snapped at the cackling swine. Wolf was disturbed by his actions on Fichina, and Pigma's sadistic pep-talk was **NOT** helping. At all.

"Are you sure you are alright, Captain Wolf?"

"Let's just get back to Venom... I need to think..."


	7. Chapter 6- Great Fox, Respite

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 6: Great Fox, Respite

Back aboard the _Great Fox_ , the Star Fox Team was in desperate need of rest. Only Slippy Toad- their least skilled pilot- was unharmed along with his Arwing. Slippy set to work repairing the recovered ships. Peppy's was the least damaged, having only taken major damage during his dogfight with Pigma before crashing. That was the ship Slippy took to repairing first. The armour was scorched from laser fire, and the engines and a G-Diffuser had been completely fried during the assault.

Falco Lombardi had strained the muscles in both his arms; his attempt at flying after abandoning his Arwing back on Fichina... followed by his subsequent crash into the forest. He rested in a spa down the corridor from the quarters, both arms stretched out at full flex and held there with spa room restraints. He gazed up to the ceiling, his feathers burnt black and his beak scuffed and scarred. He was completely naked save for a towel wrapped at his waist. He thought back on his abandonment of his Arwing...

 _I'm goin' down. Fast! Come on, baby. Hold in there, please, come on! Come on, babe, come on! Pull up. Pull up! PULL UP! Damn! Oh shit! Forest! Sorry, baby... gotta love ya and leave ya! Oh shit... I CAN'T FLY! SHIT! SHIT! COME ON! FLY! COME ON! OOOOH SHIIIIIIIT! Ow! AH! GAH! AW, SONOFA-! OH! OOO! GAH! AGH! CA!_

Falco winced as he remembered tossing and flopping between the branches of the pine trees as he slammed deep into the forest, battered and bruised after tossing himself from his ship. From his fall, Falco had scratched his torso to pieces, as sharp sticks ripped his jumpsuit open and dug into his skin, tearing feathers from his body. His throat was sore from taking a clothesline blow during his descent. He let out a low chuckle and winced in pain, rubbing his neck gently, only to wince more from the straining in his arm. He breathed in and out slowly, relaxing as much as possible so he could heal quicker.

He was alone for about half an hour before Peppy- again naked save for a towel around the nether regions- strolled in. Peppy was fine aside from some minor scorches in the fur on his face, and one of his large floppy ears being a little limper than the other. Peppy sat opposite from Falco, who looked with his right eye- his left had become swollen after he bashed against a bushy branch on one of the trees and blackened- before returning to stare back at the ceiling. Peppy sighed heavily and rested both arms on the backboard, slumping down along the bench.

"That was one hell of a fight, huh Falco?"

Falco remained silent for a short time. "Sure was..." His voice was a painful croak

"We got waxed down there... Fox took the beating of a lifetime... Miracle Wolf didn't break anything on him..."

"Didn't break any of Fox's bones? Damn."

Peppy chuckled once. Just once. "Yup. Damn is the right word for it." Peppy thought back on his own crash...

 _Orrruufff... Damn, that was one hell of a crash... Oooh, my old hips... Engines are burnt out, one diffuser busted... Pigma's one cunning swine with that EMP buster 'o' his... *COUGH* *COUGH* Ugh... Just gonna... rest a moment... Vivian, my dahlin'... I lost myself... I'm sorry... Lucy... Lucy, my little girl... Hope yer safe, kiddo... Ungh... I can't just... Can't just sit around like this... Gotta... Gotta find Fox and the others! Come on now, Peppy! On yer feet, soldier! Come on now, get up! Come on- Dah, crap! My hips... Uuuufff! Just... rest a little mo- No, get up soldier! But... just take it easy... Take it easy... There you go... Atta boy, son... We're up and ready to go... Now, one foot... in front... of the other... Nice and steady... Just like that... Nice and easy... There we go..._

"Yo, Peppy!" Peppy jumped out of his skin as he became alerted to Falco shouting at him. "You okay, old timer? You zoned out just now..."

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm good. Just thinkin' back to the crash there..."

Falco weakly chuckled. "Crazy time, huh?" The bird followed up with a weak cough and a gentle stroke of his throat. The strain on his arms was weakening, so he began to stretch them across his chest to loosen them up a little. "How's Fox doin'?"

"Parden?"

"How's Fox doin'? Asked ya a moment ago, but you were spaced." Falco now sat upright, his arms rested in his lap.

"Ah... He's restin' up in the med-bay. ROB's lookin' after 'im."

 _Down in the med-bay..._

Fox laid asleep in a contained medi-chamber, his arms and legs softly strapped into the bedspread and the chamber sealed around him, pumping him full of morphine, paracetamol, healing gel and other bodily fluids to restore the fox's health. The medi-chamber was suspended against the wall and connected to a heart monitor that tracked his heart rate. While Peppy and ROB were certain he wouldn't slip away, it was just a precaution to monitor how his heart is doing. Especially after the brutal fight Fox was involved in, a savage beating at the hands of Wolf O'Donnell. Fox had been stripped down to his underpants, a pair of grey trunks. His torso was heavily bruised and cut open, with multiple lacerations and scratches marking the poor boy. His eyes were still cut, but they had stopped bleeding. Most of the blood that stained him had been cleaned away, and he peacefully slept the hours away.

ROB walked to and from Fox's chamber every so often, checking his vitals before returning to a console across the room and jacking in with a driver device. Scanning the console, ROB was checking the diagnostics of the _Great Fox_ , tracking its own damages and stocks. While the mothership wasn't under major threat, it had been shot at by the escaping Venomian forces over Fichina, and even Star Wolf had taken a few pot-shots against the ship too. The damage was pathetically minor, however; a few burns here and there, a dip in the shield strength, but the size and strength of the _Great Fox_ 's armour and shielding ensured it wouldn't fall to a couple of fighters _that_ easily.

 _"How's he doin', ROB?"_ Peppy queried over an intercom in the spa room.

"Vital's are sound. Wounds are healing nicely. Captain Fox will make a full recovery soon."

 _"Thanks for keepin' an eye on 'im for us."_

"Of course, Master Peppy. You were all injured and needed rest yourselves. I was unharmed and am in the best position to look after the captain."

 _"Still, thanks. How's Slippy on repairs?"_

"One moment..." ROB cycled through the security feed of the carrier and fixed on the hangar docks, where Slippy finished up with Peppy's Arwing and moved onto the next ship, Falco's. Most of- if not, _ALL_ \- of Falco's systems had been completely blown; only his auxiliary oxygen filter, scanner system and his Needler cannons had survived the EMP shot. "Technician Toad has finished repairing Arwing Two, and has begun repairs on Arwing Three."

 _"That's good to hear. Have ya been able to contact General Pepper at any point?"_

"Contact has been attempted thirty-six times since your departure to Fichina, but... unfortunately, negative. We have had no full reply."

 _"What do you mean by 'no full reply'?"_

"Attempts 8, 14, 22, 27, 31, 34 and 35 were partially successful, with communications briefly patching through before being cut off once again."

 _"Try once more, will ya ROB? We may be able to get through finally."_

"Affirmative, Master Peppy." ROB disconnected from the console before entering a sort-of standby mode. Behind his red optical visor, ROB scanned the systems running throughout the _Great Fox_ and brought up two displays on his optics; one registering Fox's heart monitor, and the other an in-built long-range communicator. ROB scanned the radio waves to Corneria and began to tune into the different frequencies to contact General Pepper, who had been cut off from the Star Fox Team before they descended to Fichina.

"-******- read m-***-ar Fox? Re-***-t, can you re-**- me, Star Fo-***- ain, can you hear me, Star Fox? What is going on out there?"

"General Pepper, can you hear me? This the Robotic Operating Buddy serial number 64 of the Space Dynamics assault carrier _Great Fox_ mothership, do you read me, General Pepper?"

"ROB? Thank the stars! What's happened out there? Where's Star Fox?"

"The mission on Fichina did not go according to plan, General Pepper. Star Fox discovered that the Venomian forces were pulling out before they had even arrived and engaged them in aerial combat. Upon arrival at the Cornerian outpost, I discovered a bomb in the confines of the base, and mercenary company Star Wolf appeared in an attempt to halt Star Fox's progress. Arwings One, Two and Three were downed in the ensuing dogfight, but Arwing Four pilot Slippy Toad successfully deactivated the bomb."

"So it would seem to be a successful mission, right?"

"Negative, General Pepper. Star Wolf possessed access to a remote detonator for the device, obliterating the base. Furthermore- as I mentioned, General Pepper- Arwings One, Two and Three were downed during the mission. Arwing Four was unharmed, but the other Arwing starfighters are currently undergoing repairs aboard the _Great Fox_."

The General fell silent. "My stars... I wish them a speedy recovery. When they are ready, please inform Star Fox that their next mission will take them to... to..." Pepper gulped before gasping, "Solar..."

"The secondary star of the Lylat system? But the temperatures there are too great to support life. Not even starships of the strongest shields are tested against the stars. Why would Andross have a stronghold there?"

"He doesn't necessarily. He has unleashed some kind of experimental bioweapon upon Solar in an attempt to deaden it. I don't know how he could accomplish something like this, but perhaps this bioweapon absorbs the plasma of the stars which puts them into a state of permanent dormancy!"

"Affirmative, General Pepper. Once the crew is adequately rested, we shall set an immediate course for Solar."

"Good luck, Star Fox. Pepper out."

The communicator cut out on ROB's optical display, and the robot returned to his patrols. As he passed by the medi-chamber, he detected a rise in Fox's heart beat. The golden bot became alerted to the sudden change, but otherwise limited his urgency, as the rising heart rate was an indication of action, rather than stress or cardiac arrest. Fox had awoken and was attempting to release himself from the medi-chamber. ROB approached the console on the chamber's shutter doors and with a golden-plated digit, depressed a trigger on the console which slowly drained the healing gel from the chamber, lightly soaking Fox, before the entire console made a clunking sound and twisted sideways, opening the shutters and exposing the fox to the outside world again. ROB released the restraints on Fox's arms and legs and held him steady as the young vulpine took his first steps after passing out in the docking bays aboard the _Great Fox_.

Fox was still weak from the crash and his fight with Wolf O'Donnell, but he felt notably stronger than during those events. His weakness was no longer from physical exertion, but simply from needed rest. His body had relaxed and mended itself and was just taking its time adjusting to its usual routine. Rob held Fox with one hand at the shoulder and the other gently pressed against the stomach. Fox was still tender down there and stood tall quickly, stretching his torso out to avoid straining. His left eye was still rather swollen, and his right eye's burst blood vessels had soothed over nicely, reduced from encompassing his entire eye to just the corner at the back. The bayonet slice across Fox's chest would stay with him for a long time, whilst the spike scars would repair fairly quickly. The vulpine took a still stumble as he readjusted to being on his own feet again. His vision was blurred and his left eye had take a while for the swelling to settle, and the cuts and scars all over him were vulnerable to re-opening and infection.

ROB directed Fox to a central bench in the med-bay, where Fox sat upon and straightened himself as ROB clunked over to the side drawers and retrieved an array of tools and equipment, bringing them over to the bench where Fox was sat. Laying them off to the side, ROB showed them to the vulpine; a needle and thread to stitch his torso scars closed, some plasters for the cuts around his left eye, and bandages for his other wounds. ROB told Fox he would stitch the wounds first and handed Fox an oxygen breather to calm him and some painkillers to numb the soon sting as the Robotic Operating Buddy took the needle and thread (sterilised in a bowl of boiled water), looped the thread through the piece hole at the tip of the needle and tying it off, and lacing the needle through Fox's opened flesh. Even as he huffed in on the breather and allowed his painkillers to take their course, Fox winced from the sting as the needle danced from one frayed layer of skin to the next, pulling the two together and sewing up the wound. His big wound was sealed up within a few minutes, but to Fox, it felt like an hour of constant digging pain, all from just a sharp sting. Cutting the thread from the needle and the stitched wound, ROB replaced the needle back in the bowl and fetched the bandages, looping them round the stitching and over the scratches. Despite being unable to feel pain the same way an organic being would, ROB was very gentle as he wrapped Fox in the bandages, much to the young man's surprise. Fox had never really been so critically injured before, aside from the odd bruise from a playground fight, or scratch and scuff from contact sports. But the worst of the wrapping was yet to come, as Fox was aware; ROB tied each bandage off sharply to maintain pressure and reduce bleeding. ROB pulled tight each time, and Fox could let out a slight yelp each time. ROB was quickly finished with this and moved onto the final job and readied the plasters. The bot retrieved two from the bench, and lightly pressed the first one against the cut above Fox's eye. When he was sure that was in place, ROB readied the second one for the cut under the eye and pressed against Fox's head.

"Final medications complete, Captain Fox. You should be ready to move about freely. Keep slow and steady." ROB spluttered as he moved away with the equipment and allowed Fox to stand from the bench.

Fox shifted himself back onto his feet by pushing off the bench. He had been awake for about twenty minutes now, and his bodily functions were returning to him well. His arms were feeling lighter, his legs stronger and his head clearer. He took his first unaided steps towards a locker across from the med-bay labelled "F. McCloud" and depressed a latch on the locker door. Gently pulling it open, Fox looked in to find a new uniform waiting for him; a sleeveless green jumpsuit, black gun-belt, black boots with a red shinguard, black and red fingerless gloves, his trademark scarlet scarf and a new white jacket. Fox took the jumpsuit first and unfastened the front zip down to the waist; he slipped his legs down through the waistline and into the leggings, with his feet of blackened fur poking through the bottoms of the legs. He then took the boots and unlatched the locks on the inner and outer of each boot, jammed each foot into the right boot and re-secured the locks again. He effortlessly pulled his gloves on, and gently tied the scarf around his neck before throwing the jacket over his arms.

"Are you ready to continue the mission, Captain Fox?" ROB queried as the golden bot began to pass the vulpine.

Fox closed the locker door, turned towards the navigator and with grin across his face, uttered the words: "Hell yeah. Let's get to it!"


	8. Chapter 7- Solar, Into The Fire

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 7: Mission 3- Out of the Frying Pan... Into the Fires of Solar

The _Great Fox_ slowly made its voyage to the centre of the Lylat system, where lied the twin stars: Solar and Lylat, the namesake of the entire star system. Lylat gained its name when ancient visitors spotted the blue gas giant and named it 'Lylat', only to later discover of the secondary star of Solar, which was the sun seen from most planets within the system. The ancient visitors never catalogued the reason for this, and even modern Cornerian scientists were unsure why, though many believed that Solar's red star quality made it stand out easier in the blackness of space. Either way, neither star was a good place to travel to. Achingly pretty, but far from an ideal destination. Solar alone held a surface temperature of around 3,500 Kelvin, whereas the Lylat star radiated heat-waves well over 25,000 Kelvin. Many civilian cruisers weren't designed for heats that high. Even Cornerian fighters weren't suited for flight around the stars!

On the bridge, the Star Fox pilots chattered to and fro about their injuries from their battle with Star Wolf on Fichina.

"How ya holdin' up, Fox?" Peppy queried.

"ROB patched me up good, but these bandages are really itchy. And I don't think those plasters are gonna stay for long."

"And I thought takin' a fall through the trees was bad. You got mashed, Fox!" Falco squawked, a cocky grin beaming through his beak.

"I'm surprised you thought you could fly. When have you _ever_ done that before?"

Falco took a step back from the conversation and crossed his arms in a huff. He'd been called out for something really stupid, and for once didn't have a comeback. Falco had never really tried to fly before, and attempted to back on Fichina whilst abandoning his Arwing simply because he thought it was a natural instinct... as a bird. Must have been born without that genetic code, it seems.

Slippy was unusually smug about all of it. "Well, it looks like you guys got off lightly from that fight."

Falco jumped back in, "Lightly!? You didn't even shoot at the damn Wolfens, let alone get your hide tanned by one of 'em!"

"Now hold on there, Falco, there's no need for blowin' up like that." Peppy flashed his hands at the ace, quelling the anger and defusing the atmosphere. "On that matter anyhow; Slippy, you should understand that Star Wolf was no easy fight, and Fox was almost beaten to death out there. And how riled up Falco can get about these things."

"Yeah, yeah... Sorry, Falco." Slippy's tone took a softer pitch, but he still displayed a small smug smile.

"Just watch it, Slip. I stood up for you when Andrew gave ya lip about your piloting skills. Callin' us all out for gettin' off lightly... smartass."

At that moment, General Pepper came in through the video communicator. Fox stepped forward to address the General.

"General Pepper!" The vulpine gave a casual salute and continued, "We're currently twenty kilometres from Solar, sir."

"Good! Now, as I'm sure you're aware of, Solar is one of the stars that lights the planets of the Lylat system. But Andross has deployed some kind of biological weapon- adaptive to the star's intense heat- in the hopes of killing the star. If Solar is made dormant, the entire Lylat system could be vaporised!"

"W-Wouldn't that take him out, too?" Slippy interjected from the back of the bridge.

"Indeed, that would seem to be the case. Then again, Andross has survived the harsh bleakness of Venom for almost fifteen years now, and when he was first exiled, he was sent to that barren place with nothing more than the clothes on his back. Where there's a will, there's a way, it seems, and Andross has likely conditioned his base to survive the effects of a supernova. Or, he is simply trying to put the star into a state of dormancy, causing eternal night across Lylat!"

"So, we need to find this weapon and shut it down."

"Indeed! But watch your shields around Solar! The intense heat will likely burn through your ship's electronic systems; keep about half a kilometre from the surface."

"We'll be careful, sir. Star Fox out." Fox turned to walk away, only for Pepper to promptly call him back.

"I have been informed of your situation regarding the mission on Fichina. For the success of this mission, I am loaning you three Cornerian starfighters to pilot, and Lieutenant Grey from the Katina detachment will be joining you for the next few missions."

Fox's mood brightened at the mention of Bill. Just as Pepper signed off, four Cornerian ships zoomed past the observation window and down towards the _Great Fox_ 's hangar. The Star Fox Team rallied to greet the Cornerian pilots; in front was Lieutenant William 'Bulldog Bill' Grey, and his three co-pilots were Private Greenland and Staff Sergeant Mastiff- both from Husky 'n' Bulldog Squadrons- and Private Springer from the _Eisenhower_ fleet.

Greenland and Mastiff handed their ships over to Fox and Falco, whilst Peppy stopped to speak with Springer. The young pilot removed her flight helmet, unveiling bright blue eyes hidden within brown patches and ears on her white fur. Her age was reflected in her size; she was small and slim in build. Her uniform was cluttered and clumsy on her frame, clearly meant for a rookie pilot a little taller… and much larger. Still, she had done a decent job of holding the uniform to her person.

"I'm surprised to see you with the Katina detachment, Private Springer. Why the change of fellows?" Peppy enquired, a strange little smile across his face.

Springer's stance told all that needed to be said; she was still nervous and shy about the situation, but was quick to muster her courage and spoke clearly, "You were right about me, Peppy. After Eisenhower fleet reported back to the barracks on Corneria, everyone spoke about the courage and bravery of the pilots involved in the fight at Sector Y. We all got special recommendations, and the pilots in the Eisenhower 12-Gs were moved onto other divisions. I was sent to help out on Katina after the Venomian attack." She gently rubbed an arm in nerves. "Everyone kept telling me how brave I was to face my fears, to continue passed my limits. I owe it all to you, Peppy."

The smile on the old rabbit's had failed to fall. "No need for thanks, Springer. I knew someone just like you once upon a time. They became one of the most decorated and honoured pilots in the Cornerian Army during the insurgency, overcame a mountain of fear and anxiety, and never forgot to be humble if the story were to repeat. Words of encouragement and understanding go a long way for someone who needs to hear 'em, so keep what I told you close. Never forget."

Springer shone in admiration. "Thank you, Peppy…"

As the old rabbit casually scolded the young private about thanks, Fox and Falco conversed with Bill about the Cornerian fighters. "They ain't Arwings, but I guess they'll do over Solar." Falco groaned.

"What's the matter, Lombardi? Get too comfortable flying prototypes?" Bill teased the bird.

"Don't disrespect the Arwing, Bill. Those fighters are some of the best damn ships goin'!"

"Cool it, Falco. Bill's just teasing you." Fox stood between the two facing his wingmate, before looking to his old friend. "Still, it'll be good to have you at our backs again."

"Huh!" Falco scoffed. "Personally, I prefer to fly solo."

Bill beamed a large grin and joked, "Yeah, and that got ya shot down on Fichina. Then you tried to turn yourself into that Rhode Island Red from that old film…"

"Hey, that ain't what happened! I ain't no 'flying rooster'!"

"Emphasis on _flying_ …" Bill laughed aloud, and Falco flushed in embarrassment. The bird wrapped his feathery hand into a fist and began to shake uncontrollably, a flinching snarl across his beak.

Fox pushed Falco and Bill apart, keeping both at arm's length with ease. "Okay, you two. We need to focus."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Bill smiled with a friendly hand held out to his avian tease. "No hard feelings, Falco?"

Falco's calming stance shifted into a defiant arm-cross in the blink of an eye. He turned away and loudly scoffed. "Yeah right, Grey!"

"Falco…" Fox growled, rolling his eyes at his friend's arrogance.

Falco scoffed aloud again. "Fine!" He loosened his arm-cross and slapped his hand against Bill's, shaking heavily before pulling away quickly.

Bill's grin hadn't left his face, and he beamed a wider smile at Falco. "I think we've spent enough time standing around; let's get going!" Bill held out a closed fist to Fox, who firmly pumped against the dog's paw with his own, and the flight team- Fox, Falco, Peppy and Bill- commandeered the Cornerian fighters, leaving Slippy, ROB, Mastiff, Greenland and Springer behind to protect the _Great Fox_.

"Okay, ROB. Star Fox ready to launch!" Fox proudly boomed over his fighter's communicator.

 _"Ready to launch. Good luck, Captain Fox!"_ ROB spluttered over the intercom.

 _"Be careful out there, guys!"_ Slippy croaked.

 _"Good luck, Lieutenant!"_

 _"Keep Star Fox alive, sir!"_

 _"Be careful, everyone!"_

"Everyone ready?" Fox quizzed between his fighters.

 _"This is Peppy; say the word, Fox!"_

 _"Bill here; your call, buddy!"_

 _"Ka-mon already! I'm getttin' bored sittin' here all day!"_

"Alright then. Let's rock, guys!"

The four fighters lifted off the hangar bay floor and shot out through the dark reaches of space towards the orange mass star Solar. Jets of plasma plumed and arched across the surface of the star, spiking the heat sensors on the Cornerian fighters. In keeping with General Pepper's warning, the Star Fox Team flew their fighters about half a kilometre from the surface, just a little higher to accommodate for the weaker shields compared to the prototype Arwings.

"Watch your shields, Star Fox. These Cornerian fighters are tough old buckets, but they're still vulnerable to the heat." Bill cautioned as the flight team cruised over the orange magma sea below them.

"Yeah, yeah!" Falco squawked as he ducked down lower, spinning through a flaming arch as plumed out and over. "We get it, Bill; this place is friggen' hawt!"

Peppy tutted with a hopeless grin across his face. "Even in a place like this, Falco still can't cool off." The old rabbit sat the highest from the star's surface, with Bill and Fox just a little above their safety marker, and Falco teetering the line between dangerous and death.

Fox and Bill groaned loudly. "That was terrible, Peppy." The young lead pilot wiped the sweat from his head and gently rubbed his eyes.

"Not your finest joke, Commander Hare." Bill chuckled, watching the glow of the plasmatic seas for any signs of Andross' 'bioweapon'.

Suddenly, Falco barked out, "Whoa! What the hell was that?"

The other three pilots swung closer to their safety line, looking out over Falco's location for whatever spooked him. Nothing more than the plumes of fiery plasma spitting from the colossal ball. "Nothing's out there, Falco." Fox proclaimed.

"I reckon the heat's gettin' to 'em. Fly a little higher, Falco." Peppy scolded.

"I'm serious, guys! Somethin' just zoomed by my windows! Like a bird made of fire!" the squawking bird was unusually startled by his mysterious sighting.

"A bird made of fire?" Bill quizzed.

Peppy hummed, pulling a strange face. _Bird on fire… That sounds familiar, somehow…_

"Either way, you probably shouldn't be flying so close to the surface. Come up a little, Falco."

"WHOA!" Falco cried again. "Somethin's after me, guys!" Suddenly, a series of rapid beeps chimed across their scanners: small heat signatures, just slightly cooler to the surface of the star.

"What the-"

Before Fox could continue, a streak of flame shot passed his window, throwing the young pilot off balance and jumping him just below the safety line. His eyes on alert, Fox looked above for the streak, only to see three of them diving back down towards him. He swung away before they charged down further and vanished into the molten oceans of Solar.

"Hey, did anyone else see those… streaks?"

"I told ya! Somethin's out there!"

"Wait a minute…" Peppy queried, with himself more than anyone else. "Birds on fire… streaks… It couldn't be… Could it?"

"What are you thinking, sir?" Bill quizzed.

Another set of heat signals rose, hunting after Peppy's fighter. The old rabbit dodged away from the fires, getting a good look at them before they vanished back into the star.

"I don't believe it… They're real! The Gores flame-birds of Solar!" Peppy exclaimed, dumbfounded by what his eyes were showing him.

"The Gores? I thought they were just an old bedtime story." Fox puzzled, watching as another group of the fiery creatures chased after his fighter.

"Old story or not, we've got proof they exist." Bill stated, chasing after a group of four.

"Seems they attack in groups. Watch yer sixes, boys! These things don't take too kindly to our being-here!"

"You're tellin' me!" Falco flew lazily over to Fox and Bill, a total of nine Gores birds flying after. "Go on, shoo ya dumb birds! I ain't your buddy! Get lost!"

Fox chuckled as he flung down behind Falco, blasting after him in the hopes of startling the Gores. A couple of his shots seemed to hit the creatures, but failed to deter their flight. After a few barrages, the burning birds got the message and flew away again.

"And good riddance!" Falco snapped as the Gores sank into the molten plasma.

"I don't think they'll be gone for long, Falco. My shots didn't seem to have any effect on them." Fox puzzled, scrunching his face up and scratching at one of his ears.

"At least we know now that they can be shooed away. We just have to use Falco as bait." Peppy let a loud chuckle loose, with Fox and Bill joining in.

"Hey, no fair, old man! You're not turnin' ME into Slippy!"

The other three pilots suddenly howled with laughter. "Teasing our ace pilot, Peppy? Didn't you tell Slip not to do that?" Fox chuckled with an easy grin across his muzzle.

"Well, Falco is the one who's made the fastest friends with the Gores. Must be that avian magnetism, or somethin' down those lines."

" _Avian magnetism_? What the hell are you talkin' about, old man!?" Falco screeched as another spike in the temperature indicated the return of more Gores. Six heat signals soared from the magma and pierced through the glow of the star, chasing after the four fighters. Fox, Bill and Peppy were able to shake off their 'pursuers' relatively easily, allowing them to latch onto Falco and chase after him, with another nine Gores emerging. "Ah, come on! Why do ya's come after me?! Go on, shoo! Leave me alone!"

Again, Falco's co-pilots couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. The poor bird continued to shout and curse the birds for their relentless pursuit of Falco's starfighter, seemingly refusing to let the ace pilot go quietly. This time, Bill flew in to help fend off Falco's newfound 'friends', blasting after the creatures until they dispersed and darted back into the star. Again, Falco cursed the birds as they left, wishing their continued leave. This only prompted more laughter from Fox and the others, which tweaked Falco's ire even further.

"Seriously, guys!" the ace cried, real frustration breaking through his voice. "You have these fire-birds chasin' after ya! You see how much 'fun' it is!"

Bill stopped laughing first. "Hey, you should lighten up, Lombardi. You're among the first people to discover that the Gores are real, and not just some old story told around a campfire. You should be honoured that they like you so much!" Bill still chuckled between his words from the amusing spectacle.

This only angered the bird even further. "Shaddup, Bill!"

As the Star Fox Team circled the star a little longer, the 'attacks' from the Gores seemingly ceased, and they were free to investigate for Andross' bio-weapon in relative peace, only needing to dodge the odd fiery plume from the Solar's surface, or fly a little higher if they dropped below the safety marker. After about three hours of aimless flight, Fox called in to his fellows to check their fuel consumption. Peppy and Bill had lost about a quarter of their maximum capacity, with Bill's a little lower than Peppy's, having spent more to chase after Falco. Fox's fuel metre read a similar display, slightly lowered than Peppy and close to Bill's marker. Falco, on the other hand, had lost about a third of his fuel, due to being chased after the Gores and making the most slip-ups as they chased him. And with the intense heat around Solar, their ships would burn through their fuel much quicker.

"Hmmm…" Fox puzzled, his eyes darting across the horizon, looking for signs of any more Gores or even Andross' bio-weapon. "Anyone else seen the Gores?"

"Peppy here; no sight or sound, so to speak." The old rabbit mumbled.

"This is Bill; nothing on my end, sorry Fox." The dog pilot added.

"I got nothin'. We even sure Andross has somethin' out here?" Falco queried.

At which point, the temperature scanners began to detect a large heat source rising from Solar. "Brace yourselves, guys! Looks like we've got a whole flock of Gores coming our way!" Fox proclaimed over the speaker.

"Copy that!" Bill boomed out.

"Not more of 'em!" Falco wearily sighed.

Peppy remained silent for a little while longer. "Hold on now… This doesn't seem right…"

"What're you thinking, Peppy?"

"This ain't a flock of Gores… This heat spike is a single being."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a large wave of magma erupted from the surface, flowing off in all directions and surfing towards the heroic Star Fox.

"Holy shit!"

"Star Fox, scatter up! Get over that wave!"

All four fighters banked up as hard as they could, as the magma wave crashed below, spiking their heat scanners and seemingly 'flooding' the trail behind them. Lowering back down, Star Fox were met with the sight of an abomination; a gigantic skeletal insect-like creature with three mandibles (two at the cheeks and another in the centre) on a face, and four pincer arms. The heat spike settled on the fighters' scanners, but before them laid the largest spike of them all.

"WHOA!" Fox exclaimed in shock.

"What the hell is that thing!?" Bill yelped.

"Is _**this**_ Andross' bio-weapon?" Peppy exclaimed.

 _"Be careful, guys!"_ Slippy called in from way back on the _Great Fox_. _"We just received a mega heat spike from the surface. A Kelvin count of over 10,000!"_

"10,000!? That's insane!" Fox blurted out, awed by the heat intensity of the creature.

"Guys, switch your cannons to 'Fire Control'! It may be useful against this thing!" Bill shouted.

"Good call, Bill!" the vulpine commented. All three Star Fox pilots cycled through their fighters' on-board weapons systems until they reached 'Fire Control', a freezing beam meant for extinguishing fires and the like in the upper skies of planets.

Peppy took charge, commanding, "We're gonna have to get up close for these weapons to be useful. Bill, Falco; you two with me. We're gonna distract this thing around the head. Fox! You head in toward the torso and see what damage you can do."

"Alright then. Star Fox; let's rock 'n' roll!" With the call, the four fighters dispersed and approached the giant beast. Peppy, Falco and Bill took to the head, blasting the creature with hydrogen mist, which settled upon the creature's magmatic shell, coating it gently in a thin blueish hue. Fox dogged around the lower torso, blasting there with an icy coating too. The vulpine was careful to avoid the four pincer arms that attempted to swat or slice his fighter; if just one of those hit, it would be lights out for the pilot. _**Forever**_.

As the three circled over the creature's head, it swung after them with its top pincers, just managing to clip one of the fighters on the wings at the rear. The intense heat cut through the shields and melted the wing, but otherwise failed to down the fighter. Bill took the lead and coated one of the pincers with his freezing cannon, with the already-hued arm turn a slightly more crystallised tone. Falco came in next, repeating the canine's actions before him and soon, the arm was completely crystallised in ice.

"Commander Hare, quickly! Switch to primary cannons and blast that frozen arm!" Bill exclaimed over the communicator. Peppy swung up and charged down, firing his main lasers upon the crystalline limb, cracking and splintering the arm into large chunks. The huge crystal clumps that cut from the insectoid's body fell into the magma surface under the star's G-pull and evaporated into nothingness. "Hoorah!" Bill called out as the beast howled in pain from the loss of a limb. Or looked as if to howl in pain; the Star Fox pilots couldn't tell if it made any noise under the vacuum of space.

"Good thinkin', Bill!" Peppy boomed, a wide smirk around his face.

"Oh, no!" Falco moaned. "More Gores incoming!" True to Falco's word, a flock of Gores began to fly into the range of the bio-weapon and the Star Fox pilots. And again, they took a great interest in Falco's ship over the others. "I'm not goin' through this routine again!" The ace pulled away from the beast, the flock of twelve flame-birds chasing after him, leaving Peppy and Bill to keep the beast distracted while Fox blanketed it with his fighter's freeze guns. Falco swung back on himself- carefully avoiding the Gores flock- and charged straight for the beast. The Gores charged after him at blinding speeds, and the temperature on his fighter began to rise rapidly; his high speeds, position below the safety line and the intense heat of the star, the flock and the beast ahead made even the ace sweat uncontrollably from nerves and general overheating. With the Gores hot on his heels, Falco pulled up just as he was to plough into the creature, making the flame-birds slam into it and pushing over. The creature then vanished below the surface, and its heat signature disappeared with it.

It wasn't gone for long before it re-emerged; tossing up another massive lava-wave, Star Fox luckily pulled up and over it once more, before resuming their prior assault with a changed approach; Bill took to the under-arms with Falco, whilst Peppy and Fox tackled the remaining upper arm. The rabbit and vulpine tagged the arm with their freezer cannons, crystallising it within minutes, before blasting into bergs and severing them from the main body, tossing the icicles into the magma lakes again and causing the beast to cry once more.

"Two arms down; two more to go!" Peppy cheered, as the creature lunged for Peppy's ship.

"Watch it, Peppy! Looks like this thing wants you for dinner!" Fox warned. The old rabbit heeded his young protégé's call, and zipped away as the beast's mandibles locked, missing the fighter by a nose.

"Thanks for the heads-up, ma boy. Much obliged!" Peppy sighed, relived that he wasn't snared in those mandibles.

Meanwhile, Bill and Falco had finished freezing one of the beast's lower arms, calling Peppy and Fox in to blast it. As the duo swung in, however, more Gores began to storm the area again, and the bio-weapon slowly began to tilt back, hoping to slip under the surface of the star and melt away its frozen appendage. Unfortunately for the creature, Peppy and Fox were able to destroy the arm before it could submerge. The Gores in the area dispersed equally against the Star Fox Team; unlike before, when they seemingly just wanted to chase Falco. The cocky ace was quick to grill his co-pilots about the unwanted attention, but his remarks went ignored. Fox and Bill teamed up and charged for each other until they were set on a crash course, before slipping by each other- belly-to-belly style- and forcing their pursuing flame-birds to crash into each other and dissipate into a dust-like substance. Peppy dropped down way below the safety marker, almost close enough to drift along the hot seas; the intense heat attracted the Gores into the magma, allowing Peppy to quickly retreat from the danger zone back into safer areas. Falco also found a new way of shaking off the Gores; he sent his fighter into a spin, which caused his pursing flame-birds to spin with him, eventually colliding with themselves.

After this, Star Fox returned their attention to the creature, who resurfaced once more to a giant tidal-wave of magmatic plasma. This time, however, the heroic fighters did not escape the wave so gracefully; Bill and Peppy suffered a shield outage, forcing Fox and Falco (both of whom were hit by the creature's last pincer in the chaos and suffered some melting to the body of their ships) to attack the beast alone whilst Peppy and Bill recovered. The vulpine and bird duo tagged the last pincer with their hydrogen spray and slowly but surely crystallised the arm, before swooping beneath it (taking a knock to their shields for their troubles) before looping back and firing their primary lasers at the pincer, finally destroying it and leaving the creature at its most vulnerable.

"Alright! The creature's defenceless!" Fox cooed.

"Booyah! Take that, bug-boy!" Falco cackled.

"Bill and I are comin' in hot! Ready yer ice blasters, boys!" Peppy called out as he and Bill flew across the horizon towards the creature, which now attempted to sink its pincers into the fighters.

Fox and Falco flew back on themselves to join Peppy and Bill in the penultimate assault, spraying the creature's head with four hydrogen beams, freezing the head solid and halting the creature in the molten seas. With the beast slowly tumbling over, all four pilots came back on themselves and discharged a volley of laser fire into the crystal head, shattering it into a thousand pieces which then slowly fizzed into dust. The battle over Solar was finally over!

"Hoorah!" Fox cheered as what remained of the creature faded harmlessly back into the molten surface of the star. "Andross' bio-weapon goes down!"

"As always, you know how to make a dogfight interesting, Fox!" Bill chuckled.

"Well done, Star Fox! That was no easy feat!" Peppy proclaimed.

"Enough praise! Let's get outta here!" Falco squawked.

"Can't argue with that!"

"Like it needed saying!"

"Come on then; let's get back to the _Great Fox_ …"

 _Meanwhile…_

Far at the end of the Lylat system, lied the dreaded planet known as Venom. A desolate world, dark and arid, barren and sickly, covered in vast wastelands and toxic oceans, where no life has ever been recorded. And yet it was the home and headquarters of the current Venomian Army, ruled by the maddened snow monkey, Andross. Within his fortress (an ancient Venomian construct, over two hundred years old), his resting forces prepared for renewed assaults against the Cornerian Army, locust-like hordes of monkeys and lizards alike charged to and fro in preparation. Amongst them all, three off-species hired guns walked; a wolf, a chameleon and a pig. The three operating members of Star Wolf!

The three patrolled down a colossal corridor, Wolf leading with Leon and Pigma following behind. Leon was dressed in a sleek black bodysuit, form-fitting and padded over his vital organs. His eyes squinted and blinking twice (one horizontal set, one vertical set), his posture crooked and slouching, the legendary assassin known as 'Kaczni' looked broken and twisted, but still deadly all the same. Leon Powalski; a figure of limitless sadism yet twisted grace. And beside him: the infamous Star Fox traitor, Pigma Dengar. A short and stout swine of a man, Pigma's eyes were a blank yellowy-white, his sockets a sodden black, and small dribble of spit stained his mouth. His blood red uniform barely covered his portly frame. As he kept up with his taller comrades, the fat pig waddled from side to side and huffed and puffed with each step as if he was running to keep up with Wolf and Leon.

"L-Look, you guys…" The fat swine wheezed without a drop of his prior sadism. "You… you sure… ye sure about… Woooo…"

Wolf stopped in his tracks. "Catch your breath, Dengar."

Pigma gasped for a few moments before spitting, "You sure about this? Andross has asked to see us… I mean, it's, uh, it's not something that should be, uh… be taken lightly, is all." There was a hint of hesitance and fear in the exhausted swine's tone. The once sadistic pig had been replaced, seemingly with this bumbling coward.

"His stooge said he wanted to discuss what happened on Fichina, that's all. And if there is something else going on, who cares? I ain't fighting for Andross' new world order, or whatever the hell he's got planned. I'm just here for the pay-check." Wolf barked at his comrade, before resuming his patrol down the corridor.

"Now hold on, Wolf… Now, you's two don't know Andross like I do… He's got some, uh, some serious cosmic powers now… And h-he's not someone ya really wanna… huuh… piss off, ya know?"

"Quit your babbling, Pigma. Andross doesn't scare me; he's just some wannabe tyrant or some shit like that."

"Besides, I have known fear and how to use it. Andross is the type to use fear as a method of instilling loyalty. If we approach him with no fear…" Leon started.

"… Then he can't control us, see? So, stop pissing your pants, Pigma." Wolf finished his reptile friend's sentence.

The Star Wolf Team finally arrived at the destination; a large door made of bronze-like metal where twin guards stood watch. The two stood aside and allowed the trio within; the doors opened into a giant throne room, where upon a throne, sat a large snow monkey, adorned in a regal purple, barbaric red and golden-weaved robe. This was the mighty supreme leader of the Venomian Army, Andross. And Star Wolf were now stood before this would-be tyrant.

"Wolf O'Donnell." The emperor-like Andross bellowed in his strange accent. A vile grin expanded across his chops as he lent forward into Wolf's face. "You have served me well, Captain Star Wolf. Eradicating Star Fox was no easy task, and your ruthless skills have aided me well in our tenure thus far. Again, I wish to offer you an official position within my new empire-"

"Told ya once, I'll tell ya a thousand times: **Not. Interested.** " Wolf snapped, interrupting the monkey.

The grin from Andross' face suddenly dropped into a deep frown. "Still so apprehensive. What holds your commitment to my cause back, Captain?"

Wolf snarled, "I hate politics, pure and simple. I'm only here for the money you promised when you hired me. Now if that's all, I've got some things I need to think about." The lupine clearly had no love or respect for Andross' vision of the future. The gun-for-hire turned his back on his employer. Leon stood as callous and cold as always, but Pigma was actually trembling and soaked with sweat. Something about Andross made the cunning swine a nervous wreck.

Before Star Wolf could leave, however, Andross extended his hand and cast a cosmic bubble around, stopping them in their tracks. "Before I let you leave, there is one more thing I wish to know…" The primate gently rotated his hand so as to face Star Wolf. He leaned in again, and growled with a sneer, "What has become of my nephew?"

"Why would you care? You saddled me with him to get him out of your business."

"Indeed, but that does not mean I have no use for him." Andross' growl had grown sinister. Whatever Wolf's next word- a lie, the truth- it would not matter. Andross was very displeased. "Where is Andrew, Captain?"

"Last time I checked, he was taking a frozen dirt nap on Fichina." Wolf was unflinching in his words. Leon's eyes simply darted between Wolf and Andross, whereas Pigma stood in fear as sweat lubricated his bald head and protruded all over his uniform.

Andross stroked his white beard before barking out, "CUSTODIAN!"

A lizard appeared, bowed before him and stammered, "Yes, Lord Andross?"

Andross sat back in his throne. "Send out a rescue party to Fichina. They are to rescue my idiot nephew, Andrew Monkeyvitch."

"Yes, Lord Andross!" the lizard bowed again and disappeared from the throne room. As the custodian left, another lizard barged in.

"Lord Andross!" he cried. "The Vulcain Project has been reported as defeated, sir. Star Fox is still active!"

Andross' evil yellow and red eyes bulged in rage. He turned his dark gaze towards Star Wolf, who were still trapped in his cosmic bubble, and growled, "I thought you said you had killed them, Captain O'Donnell."

Wolf stared back at the emperor, a cocky smile on his face. He thought he had killed them, a waste of a good rival. But no, Star Fox still lived… and were still prime for a fight. Wolf smirked, "Looks like they're a bit tougher than you thought, Andross… Of course, I could always finish the job…"

"NO!" Andross squeezed the bubble tight around Star Wolf- as if to squeeze the life from them like a boa constrictor- before letting it go and allowing the mercenaries to breathe again. "You! You… You have failed me, Star Wolf. I shall have others see to the destruction of Star Fox… you shall serve as palace guard. If the Cornerian forces breech planet Venom… you shall **crush them**. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, 'Lord' Andross." Wolf sneered, his smile still on his face.

"Good… Now, get out." Andross quietly growled, shooing Star Wolf away with his hand.

Outside the throne room, Star Wolf made their way back through the corridor. Wolf's smile still failed to leave him.

"What're ya smilin' for, Wolf!?" Pigma jabbered, looking back towards the throne room entrance as if to expect some kind of punishment. "Andross'll likely dock us pay… maybe even en-enslave us, once this is all over! I-I was meant to live like a king, n-not go out on my knees!" the swine continued to jabber uncontrollably, spit constantly splattered from his snout and sweat now clunge to him like a bad odour.

"Quit your whining, Pigma. Star Fox is still kickin', and that just made my day a lot more interestin'…"


	9. Chapter 8- Sector X, Mysterious Base

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 8: Mission 4- Mysterious Base in the Radiation Zone, Sector X

Back aboard the _Great Fox_ , the Star Fox Team- consisting of Fox McCloud, William 'Bulldog Bill' Grey, Falco Lombardi and Peppy Hare- reunited with their comrades- Slippy Toad, ROB #64, Privates Springer and Greenland, and Staff Sergeant Mastiff- and began to converse over the subject surrounding their next objective, the second radioactive space nebula, dubbed 'Sector X'. Like Sector Y, this nebula field was named for its largest dust cloud, shaped like an 'X', and was known for its much more dangerous radiation spikes and electromagnetic surges as opposed to Sector Y. Just like the previous danger zone, nobody really knew why the sector was formed the way it is, nor how it was made. Regardless, travel through the area was highly dangerous, with fewer people returning from the area than Sector Y.

As the extended Star Fox Team chattered amongst themselves, ROB announced over the mothership intercom, _"Message incoming. General Pepper wishes to speak with Captain Fox."_

"On my way, ROB." Fox made his way back up to the bridge of the _Great Fox_ alone, leaving his comrades behind in the rec rooms. Back on the bridge, Fox was greeted by General Pepper once more.

"Great work over Solar, Fox! Thanks to you, Andross' plot to vaporise the Lylat system has failed, and he now has to rely on a counterattack, giving us the chance to assault his headquarters! You're almost to his base of operations. Before you can get to Venom, however, you must head through Sector X. When Andross first waged this war, he set up a research base deep within the shroud. Cornerian spies managed to locate the station, but we lost contact with them a few weeks before Andross invaded Corneria. I need you to investigate the area and recover any Cornerian personnel still alive."

"Will do, General."

"Don't forget, the radiation in this sector is deadly! Watch your diagnostic systems, and keep your wits about you! Pepper out!" The General's hologram disappeared from the observation window and Fox returned to the hangar.

"How are the Arwing repairs coming, Slippy?" the vulpine queried as he passed by the rec room. Slippy, Falco and Peppy stood and followed him, whilst the Katina detachment trailed behind.

"Aside from the exposed framework, all the Arwings are ready to fly again! Yours and Falco's were the most trouble, and they haven't properly been repaired yet, but they're good enough to fly. And they should get us all to Venom." Slippy proudly boomed as the whole team entered the hangar.

"Wish we could stick around a little longer, but we should really report back to Katina for further orders." Bill commented, his three comrades stood behind him.

"You've gotta go, already?" Fox cried, clearly wanting Bill and his team to stick around a little longer.

"You can use our long-range communicator to contact your superiors, if you'd like. If they don't need you ASAP, ya'll can probably stick with us for a time." Peppy cheerfully offered.

"Thanks for the offer, Peppy, but we should still head back at some point. You guys have the clearance to go this far on your own as mercs, but pilots like us need the go-ahead and at least one fleetship at our back." Bill declined the generosity in a polite tone.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, Bill. But we gotta cut 'cha loose!" Falco snapped, his arms-crossed and his stance dismissive.

"Falco!" Fox cried, the young vulpine frowning and flicking his tail in anger.

"It's okay, Fox. Seems good old Rooster Red hasn't changed." Bill chuckled, getting a short laugh from Greenland and Mastiff.

"I told ya, I ain't no rooster!" Falco squawked, dropping his arms and leaning into the pilot for his shout.

"Now, now, there's no need for hostility amongst men." Peppy calmly boomed, patting the air to help settle the tension.

"Falco does have a point about it being a good run." Fox cheerfully proclaimed, a beaming smile blazing across his face at his oldest friend.

The bulldog spluttered a chuckle, "Sure has, buddy." He approached the vulpine and extended his right hand. Fox took hold and the two shook with a large smile. "You owe me, Fox."

"Aren't we about even now?" Fox half-heartedly queried.

"Maybe we are, maybe not." Bill teased, walking passed the Star Fox Team towards the Cornerian fighters.

Peppy placed a hand on Fox's shoulder. "We should get movin', son."

"Roger that, Peppy. Let's hit the plains, Star Fox!" the lead proclaimed, rallying his team and charging up the gangways and vaulting into their Arwing cockpits. As the ship carapaces slowly closed and locked, Fox called in to ROB, "ROB, can you get us a systems check?"

 _"Affirmative, Captain Fox. One moment… Arwing One: J. Fox McCloud. G-Diffusers: full power, damages repaired. Armour plating: 80%, repaired. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, minor damages. Frontal turrets: minor damages. Radar scanner: optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing One: ready to launch. Arwing Two: Peppy Hare. G-Diffusers: full power. Armour plating: 90%, repaired. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, undamaged. Frontal turrets: undamaged. Radar scanner: electromagnetic scrubbing complete, optimal. Communication systems: electromagnetic scrubbing complete, optimal. Arwing Two: ready to launch. Arwing Three: Falco Lombardi. G-Diffusers: overclocked, full power. Armour plating: lightweight, 85%, repaired. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, undamaged. Needler cannons: primed and ready, minor damages. Radar scanner: optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing Three: ready to launch. Arwing Four: Slippy Toad. G-Diffusers: full power. Armour plating: heavyweight, 100%. Smart bomb launcher: fully loaded, minor damage, repaired. Frontal turrets: optimal. Radar scanner: overclocked, optimal. Communication systems: optimal. Arwing Four: ready to launch. All fighters: prepare for launch!"_

"Ready, guys?"

"This is Peppy; on yer call, son!"

"Slippy here; ready to go!"

"Let's go already!"

"Alright then. Let's rock 'n' roll!"

With all fighters ready, Star Fox shot from their holsters and sped out into the vast frontier of space, bombing down under the _Great Fox_ and out towards the radiation zone dubbed 'Sector X', a giant nebula shaped like the eponymous letter. As they travelled into the safe area just before the bulk of the nebula, Peppy warned his younger pilots to keep a good eye on their radiation counters and electronics; the harmful waves in Sector X were much deadlier than in Sector Y. Fox and Falco were a little more aware of this, so the warning mostly went to Slippy; not just as the least skilled pilot, but also as he never travelled through Sectory Y, as he was working on repairs to his own Arwing after it had been damaged in the Meteo asteroid field.

"Okay, guys. Let's find this secret base." Fox proclaimed as the Star Fox Team travelled into a large frame of debris.

"Look, up ahead!" Falco barked, as Venomian fighters slowly came into view. "Let's have a little fun while we go!" the ace immediately broke off from his fellows and took after the small squad of eight fighters, effortlessly shooting one into dust.

"Star alert, boys! We don't know what Andross' forces were up to in this place." Peppy warned, ever the voice of caution and wisdom to the young team-for-hire.

Fox glanced down at his Arwing's radar, only to realise that Slippy was getting left behind. Peppy stuck by the lead, whilst Falco busied himself chasing after the Venomians. "You okay, Slippy? You're falling behind."

Slippy briefly stumbled over his words, but quickly recovered. "I'm fine, Fox. Just scanning the debris in the area. Most of it is Venomian design."

"Hmmmm..." Peppy pondered, stroking his chin and scratching at his face. "Strange… couldn't be from the base, could it?"

"I d-dunno. But whatever did it had some serious firepower." Slippy gasped, finally drifting forward to catch up with Fox and Peppy.

Up ahead, Falco had just downed his fourth fighter when he called out, "Enemies comin' in from behind you, guys! Man, they're fast!" As Falco said, another group of fighters flew in over the remaining three Star Fox pilots, another six fighters in total.

"Focus, boys! Falco could use some backup." Peppy boomed, zooming off ahead and engaging three starfighters, chasing them into a corridor of a ship's hull.

Fox and Slippy stuck together and took off after four fighters as they headed towards a square-like construct of girders. Weaving in and out of the beams, Fox and Slippy made short work of the fighters before splitting off to team-up with their missing flightmates; Slippy took off down the hull corridor to regroup with Peppy, whilst Fox headed back out into the open plains to find Falco, only for the bird to accidentally open fire on him. The ace's Needler cannons cut through a part of Fox's exposed hull and shut off his radar system.

"Watch your fire, Falco!" Fox cried, hopelessly attacking his radar in the hopes of restoring it. "Damn, I've got no radar now!"

"Guess I got carried away… Give it a little while, it should start up again." Falco grumbled. The ace's trademark sass and arrogance was dulled quite a bit in his speech; he seemed genuinely sorry, just falling shy from actually saying so.

Fox and Falco returned to the main route for the Venomian base, where Peppy and Slippy emerged from their shell run. Reunited again, Star Fox continued through the debris field; large girders, ship armour, and hard wiring lazily drifted through the vacuum as more Venomian attack forces flanked the mercenaries with ambushes from plain sight, within the debris or an attack at the rear. Fox needed one of his fellows to call out where the attackers came from, as his radar was still refusing to work since Falco's fight-or-flight response to spotting him out of the blue.

After heading through the debris for about two hours, Peppy proclaimed, "Eyes open, boys. We should be gettin' closer to the base right about now."

Ahead, the squad took a route through a long corridor of armour plating, but something was off. The Venomians that plagued them before the debris were now gone, and as Slippy continued to scan the havoc, the designs of the wreckage were Venomian in origin. Whatever was destroyed here was from Andross' empire.

As the four emerged from their routes, Falco exclaimed, "Some joker must 'a beatin' us here. The base is gone!" Indeed, the research base was no more, but what could have destroyed it? Even in the depths of his insanity, Andross wouldn't destroy such a valued source of scientific research and development… Would he? And the Cornerian forces here were solely sent in as spies, and it was likely they severely lacked the firepower to wreck the base, especially if it left behind _this_ _much_ salvage.

"Keep yer eyes peeled. Whatever destroyed the base couldn't have gone far." The wise rabbit chimed. Each member of Star Fox pulled off to explore further. After half an hour's search, each pilot returned to their main run with the same story: no sign of Cornerian survivors, and no sightings of whatever totalled the base. "There's really nothing out here?"

"Not that I could find." Fox sighed, brushing his right hand through his crew-cut between his ears.

"It's just dead space. Damn…" Falco squawked behind a defeated voice.

"Even my scanner c-couldn't pick anything up. If I b-being honest, guys, I'm a little f-freaked out by whatever happened here. Reports of a base and spies, but there's just… n-nothing. N-Nothing left. Nothing's scarier…" Slippy nervously spluttered, sweat forming on his top lip.

"Keep it together, Slip. We'll head on through, take out any more Venomians up ahead and then report back to Pepper with what we find." Peppy reaffirmed.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Peppy." Fox proclaimed, and the four set off as a unit through the last leg of wreckage. As they ventured through a large inner wall which crumbled as they blasted it apart, a giant crane-like construct slowly drifted through the gap they made.

"What the hell was that?!" a spooked Falco exclaimed, attempting to look back for a better view.

"Don't matter much now." Peppy grumbled in a rather sombre tone. Such a waste of life, for answers that seemingly will never truly be solved. Up ahead, another party of Venomians lay in wait for prey. Four of the eight man-band splintered Peppy from the pack, causing the old rabbit to blurt out, "They've got me! I'm gettin' careless!"

Falco took off to distract the other fighters, whilst Fox and Slippy teamed up to lend Peppy a helping hand. Within a matter of moments, Fox and Slippy had wiped out the attackers. "Thanks for the save, boys."

A few minutes later, Falco re-joined the trio and the team continued to pass by the wreckage of the Venomian research base, a host of questions running through each of their heads as to what caused this. After another hour's lazy search, Star Fox came across a fork division caused likely by a diverging corridor. Fox and Peppy took the left, whilst Falco and Slippy went down the right route. As they approached, the team almost smashed into another crane-like appendage. When Falco cried out about, Peppy commented on it too; these were so far the only distinguishing refuses in the sea of bland construction waste. After travelling down their respective corridors and reuniting again when the two forks converged again, they entered a danger zone; the radioactive dust cloud of Sector X on the far horizon had grown much larger, suggesting that the Star Fox Team had been travelling for miles.

"Watch yer counters, boys. We're entering Danger Zone: Yellow. It may be the least dangerous, but that don't mean we can get sloppy." Peppy warned.

As the team continued down another route of metal wreckage, Falco scanned their surroundings; the Venomians had all but completely backed away, and the wreckages around them had clearly been scavenged. But, as Peppy pointed out, this was well into the first tier of Sector X's danger zone, where the radiation can be deadly, even in the 'Yellow Zone', the _least_ deadly. "Somethin' not right in this place. Who took all the salvage?"

Emerging from the corridors, the Star Fox Team ventured out slowly into the open plains. They were in the thick of the danger zone, and all agreed- with the 'Orange' and 'Red danger zones ahead and the lesser scrap- that they should head back. An EMP wave suddenly short-circuited the team's scanners, disabling their second set of eyes. In agreement the team were ready to head back to the _Great Fox_ , until Falco noticed something very unsettling; the two cranes that had passed within the wreckage paths had seemingly _followed_ them through.

Falco took one look back and screamed, "What the hell!? Fox! Peppy! Slippy! Look out behind us!"

All three pilots tossed and turned in their cockpits, trying to look back at what Falco had seen. Then Fox saw it, diverting Peppy and Slippy to it as well; a flagship-like construct dragged out from the debris fields. The cranes that the team had seen were summoned from the depths and latched onto the main body of the build. The hull resembled a body, the 'bridge' area a head, and the cranes seemed to morph into a set of arms.

"This must be what took out the base!" Fox gasped.

"Just what in the world is it!?" Peppy exclaimed. It looked like a cross between an old robot unit and some kind of salvage boat.

"W-Whoa! Cool!" Slippy croaked, his eyes bulging in an odd delight.

"Focus, Slippy! This thing's dangerous!" Falco snapped at the awestruck frog.

Suddenly, a rogue channel came in over the Arwing communicator. Its speech was unsettling, to say the least: "Destroy. Destroy." The arms properly locked in place on the body before the bridge turned to unveil a large set of optical floodlights, which beamed through the blankness of the space field. It then proceeded to raise an arm and flex the crane head into a hand, and wagged a single finger at the Star Fox Team.

"Sassy little scrub, ain't he?" Falco grumbled, clearly annoyed that a crazed robot rivalled _him_ in sass.

The robot then flexed the same finger with a come hither motion, droning out the words, "I will terminate all enemies. You are an enemy." 'It' then swatted after the nearest Arwing, but the pilot- Fox- rolled away whilst peppering the head of the bot with his ship's main cannons.

"Fox, aim for those floodlights. I think they're its eyes!" Slippy cried out, his scanner detecting the optics as a weak point.

"Take out the eyes, and it'll be blind too." Peppy concluded, swooping in close to the head of the 'being', charging up from below and blasting the eyes. As the old rabbit flipped over and looped back, the bot again attempted to swat the Arwing dead, but Peppy was just a little too far to be caught. Before he could turn back on himself and get a second round in, however, the 'creature' then opened two gates at the sides of its head, which unveiled twin cannons which shot out a pulsing wave, which hit Peppy. "Damn! I'm hi-" Before he could finish, the old man was cut off.

"Peppy? Peppy!" Fox cried out to no response.

"Destroy. Destroy." The bot simply repeated in its droning speech.

Falco charged in and blasted the unit with a smart bomb, crippling the right side of its head. "Take that, ya scrub!"

"Peppy's okay, guys!" His communicator and engines were just cut out, that's all." Slippy sighed to his comrades. Soon, Peppy's voice came back over the communicator, to the relief and calming of Fox and Falco.

The fight against the mysterious bot, however, was far from over. It still had half its head in working order, and both arms still served their function. Despite the damage it sustained from Falco's smart bomb, it was clear this 'creature' still had a lot of fight left in it. "I will terminate all enemies." It charged its remaining head cannon and zapped it after the Star Fox Team, only for them all to dodge the wave and pepper the cannon with their own firepower, causing the cannon to explode in a fiery shower of glorious heat. "WHERE IS THE CREATOR!?" The 'creature' demanded, firing the crane-fists at Star Fox.

As the Star Fox lead dodged passed one of the fists, he pondered aloud, "What is this thing talking about?"

"Don't know, don't care. It's goin' down for good!" Falco rushed back in and shot another smart bomb, blowing a hole in the centre of its chest. With the massive hole blown through its chest, the robot seemingly sunk down in defeat and began to drift away in the vacuum.

"Mission accomplished, guys! Now let's get outta here!" Fox exclaimed.

"Ya don't have ta tell me twice! We're almost on the border to Danger Zone: Orange. Let's double back to the _Great Fox_ and move on." Peppy boomed, preparing to head back with Fox and Falco.

"Hold on a second, guys…" Slippy muttered, edging his Arwing closer to the creature. "I may be able to scan this thing and rig up some new prototypes!"

"Come on now, Slippy! Let's get a move on!" Peppy barked out. He knew the dangers of lingering in the danger zones for too long, as some good soldiers he knew during the insurgency had vanished in the region.

"Don't worry. This'll only take a second." Slippy calmly noted as he drifted in close to the being's head, a blue flash waving over the creature and feeding data back to Slippy's on-board computer.

"Slippy, what're ya doin', pal? Ca-mon, hurry up!" Falco yelled, clearing agitated by Slippy's nonchalance about the urgency of the situation. Rather surprising, considering he was far from level-headed travelling through the debris field. Perhaps the payoff had calmed his nerve.

"Almost finished…"

Just then, another electromagnetic pulse shot across the field, knocking out all scanners and communications between the Star Fox Team. As their systems came back online, Slippy began to turn back and catch up with his co-pilots, until the trio noticed the lifeless creature shift oddly. It was then that Fox realised that the being wasn't dead yet; it was still alive!

"Slippy, look out! That thing's still operational!" the vulpine cried to no avail; Slippy's communicator only broadcast static. The creature swooped down with a crane-arm and snatched Slippy's Arwing out of flight, crushed one of its wings and prepared to crush it further.

Amidst the static of his radio, Slippy's terrified voice was able to stammer, "H-H-H-H-H-Help me, g-g-g-g-g-guys!"

Falco shot to the rescue of the frog, piercing through the creature's arm with his Needler cannons. "Let Slip go, ya scrub!"

"The view is clear." The creature spluttered over the communication channel. It then revved up its arm and tossed the Arwing away. The Star Fox Team could only watch in horror as their fellow pilot tumbled off into the distance and was soon out of sight-range.

Before his communications range cut out, the terrified Slippy was able to cry out a single word:

"FOX!"

And just like that, he was gone. Slippy had disappeared from sight, his voice was silenced.

"SLIPPY!" Fox screamed in desperation. It was no use; Slippy was too far to hear him. Star Fox collective horror turned into primal wrath as each pilot turned their wrathful gaze onto the creature, who waged its finger at them and shook its head.

"I will terminate all enemies." It spluttered again. "Destroy. Destroy."

Falco swung down from above. "I'll give ya somethin' to destroy, bolt-brain!" the ace screeched as Needler shots dug through the armour plating of ther creature. Falco shot down below the creature, whilst Fox and Peppy charged in fast, blasting the creature on the left and to the face with a smart bomb each.

"WHERE IS THE ENEMY!?" the crazed bot spluttered, as small fires erupted from its armoured skin. It spun around like a rotating blade, attempting to swat any pilot that dared to fly too close. Falco charged up from below, spinning through an exposed opening and coming out through a blown shoulder. As he flew out, the bot erupted from the inside; Falco had dropped his last smart bomb from within the creature. Before the eruptions encompassed its head, the creature let out a rather pitiful groan: "I must be complete." And just like that, the creature was no more; its head detached from the main body with a small puff and blast. It really was debris now.

The three pilots boosted away from the danger zones closing in towards the Sector X nebula cloud.

"ROB! Get me Slippy's location!" Fox desperately cried over the communicator, brushing sweat through his crew-cut.

"Location confirmed. Arwing Four distress signal: planet ahead." Star Fox reared in sight of the next planet. It atmosphere a toxic mix of red and orange, an orbital ring of rock dust flying round it.

Peppy instantly recoiled in terror. "Oh no… he's crashed on Titania! That's a military testing ground!"

"Man. Slip's always causin' problems." Falco groaned.

"Hang in there, Slippy. We're comin…"


	10. Chapter 9- Titania, Search For Slippy

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 9: Mission 4- Military Testing Grounds of Titania, The Search for Slippy

The approach towards planet Titania was one filled with dread for the Star Fox Team. As the _Great Fox_ drifted into orbit of the desert world, the thoughts of the pilots turned to their missing comrade. Slippy had crashed onto the planet some four hours prior, his Arwing severely damaged from the creature of the Sector X cloud. His last word- a panicked cry- dug into the depths of the minds of the crew. What was worse, his crash site was _this_ planet: Titania. 2 million years ago, it was once a lush fertile world, with a strong agrarian culture and natural beauties, including the ancient Titanian cities and temples of ornate stone. Sadly, this society was wiped from the surface of the planet when an enormous meteor collided with the planet, giving Titania its well-earned nickname as "The Red Planet of Lylat". Now, Titania serves as a testing ground by the Cornerian military for new weapons; its hostile atmosphere means that no life is sustainable there, and where there is no life, there is no threat to it, thus making the world a totally safe place for military weapons testing. And yet, overseeing personnel have often reported sightings of strange movements on the surface, all of which were uncaptured on video and dismissed by the higher officials. Either way, Titania was a dead planet… one which Star Fox had to travel to in order to retrieve their fallen friend.

From the bridge of their mothership _Great Fox_ , Fox, Falco and Peppy discussed with ROB the exact location of the missing Arwing and its pilot Slippy, the condition both would be in and so on, before a message alert came in from Corneria. Fox stood to answer, with Peppy, Falco and ROB hidden in the back. General Pepper appeared over the hologram, his face contorted into a mix between shocked bewilderment and panicked anger.

"What the hell are you doing, Star Fox!? Titania is a military testing zone, far too dangerous even for Andross' forces!" The General barked, his face perfectly matching the tone of his voice.

"I can't leave Slippy down there, General! I **won't**! Star Fox never leaves a man behind!" Fox's tone was a departure from his usual cool, level-headed boom; now it was a panicked, frightened and emotional scream. Not only was this a desperate cry to uphold his own moral to never leave a friend behind, but this was also to uphold a broken promise of the Star Fox Team; when Peppy fled from planet Venom five years ago, he was forced to leave a man behind: Fox's father, James F. McCloud. The young vulpine barely managed to keep his tears back, with Peppy openly- yet silently- weeping for his fallen friend and Fox's seemingly breaking resolve.

Even Pepper displayed open tears, snuffling heavily before barely managing to boom with confidence, "Then continue your course, Captain McCloud. Godspeed, and good fortune to you! Make a swift return to your mission when your squad is restored. Godspeed, Star Fox! Pepper out!" Pepper's hologram vanished as Fox stood back from the podium, rubbing away the tears with the sleeve of his jacket. He even knocked his plasters loose, his cuts dried and healing over.

"What's the plan for Titania, Fox?" Peppy queried as the team sluggishly drudged over to the elevator.

Inside, Fox went over the situation: "ROB pinpointed Slippy's location at thirty-six degrees north, 117 degrees west within a six-hundred kilometre range. Peppy, you and Falco take the Arwings and head south. I'll take the Landmaster and head north. Whilst we're looking for him, ROB will continue trying to raise his distress signal and accurately pin down the crash site."

"What if Slip's somewhere east or west?" Falco quizzed, his usual arrogance in place. His comrades couldn't tell whether he genuinely didn't care for his fallen co-pilot, or if he kept up this façade as a coping mechanism.

Either way, Fox and Peppy couldn't dwell on this. The vulpine continued, "If Slippy didn't crash in the southern or northern routes, then we double back to the drop zone and split off east and west; you two head west, and I'll search the east."

"Let's hope that Slip didn't go and get himself into too much trouble. Titania may be a dead planet, but that don't mean that somethin' ain't out there." Peppy lamented as the elevator reached the hangars; the old rabbit stepped out with the bird, whilst Fox rode the elevator down to the cargo hold of the _Great Fox_. There, he stepped out into the darkened hold.

The _Great Fox_ 's cargo hold was a bowed space that filled out the bottom of the mothership. Fox brought a massive floodlight on by voice command and suddenly the maze of heavy-duty containers and food stocks lit up; the vulpine slipped and crawled through every space until he came to a loading lift in the centre, with a large tank sat beside it. Fox brushed one of his hands over the body, sweeping away the dust that hazed the tank's designation, printed into the metal: 'Space Dynamics Land Armoured Exploration Prototype: LANDMASTER MK. I'. During the 10 Years of Recovery, Space Dynamics were developing their first land-based vehicle, but the prototype was gifted to Star Fox under private circumstances, just before the death of Fox's father. Since restarting the Star Fox Team, the Landmaster sat dormant in the cargo hold of the _Great Fox_ , gathering dust and wasting away. Luckily, Slippy- as a Space Dynamics junior engineer and curious inventor- had discovered of the tank and restored it to its former glory, buffing away any rusted pistons and old armour-plating, even upgrading the tank with its frontal J2 Laser cannon, a missile launcher containing up to ten missiles at a time and even a G-Diffuser under the chassis to allow the tank to 'jump' in the air, avoiding any land based beams or underground-surfaced explosions; such G-Diffusers even allowed the operator to roll the tank out of the way and boost to gain speed.

It was also a bit larger than most tanks, such as its concept design, the ancient T57; whereas the T57 sat at about 9 metres long (excluding its cannon), three-and-a-half metres wide and 3 metres tall, the Landmaster sat at just over 11 metres long (again, its cannon excluded from that measurement), 4 metres wide and three-and-a-half metres tall. Even more alarmingly, despite this expansion in size, the Landmaster was somehow constructed to run fine with just _one crewman_. Of course, Slippy had addressed this design flaw and installed more seats to allow for more than _one crewman_ , but still, the Landmaster could move and shoot at the same time with just a single operator. It had once been simply an exploration vehicle, after all.

Fox grinned at the mammoth-like vehicle and leaped from one curvature of the beast to the next, hopping over the tyre-treads and off the main cannon before slipping through the service hatch and seating himself in the Landmaster's vehicle operations seat. Despite its large size, the Landmaster was very cramped on the inside, understandably to reduce injury to the operator inside if it were ever flipped, but also, to allow for even thicker and stronger armour, with the tank's armour plating constructed from a titanium-ceramic alloy and reinforced with fragments from _dying stars_. This not only made the Landmaster a nigh-unstoppable force of nature, but also ridiculously heavy, even more so than its T57 concept design. Its original designs put its total weight- armour and all- at just under 180 tonnes, with Slippy's conversion modifications bringing that weight just over _200 tonnes_.

Fox shuffled himself into the seat before securing the harness belts and depressing the 'POWER ON' button on his dashboard. The Landmaster spluttered and coughed as the engines began to awaken from their slumber before roaring to life like a wild lion directing its pride. The Landmaster's floodlights blinkered on before striking a shipping container with twin beams of light. Fox gave the cannon a quick spin to get a feel for its movements before taking the controls; he directed the tank in a turn, the tank-tracks slowly rolling forward along the cargo bay floor before stopping on the loading lift.

The Star Fox captain then tuned into a radio, "ROB, have we broke through Titania's atmosphere?"

 _"Affirmative, Captain Fox. Shall I ready Masters Falco and Peppy for launch?"_

"Appreciate it, ROB. And open the cargo lift. I'm deploying the Landmaster."

 _"Roger that, Captain."_

Just then, a yellow-lighted alarm began to blare throughout the cargo hold, likely for informing any staff of the loading lift being opened for deployment. Not that any other flightmates were in the hold. The lift slowly dropped down on hydraulic depressors, with Fox and the Landmaster becoming introduced to the surface of Titania, its red-orange sands stretching for miles upon miles. Fox turned off the Landmaster's floodlights (he didn't need them with the sun bearing down on the planet), and waited as the loading lift lowered down to a safe distance for Fox to ride off and land on to the surface. When he was ready, Fox pushed forward, and the Landmaster rolled off the lift and landed flat into the Titanian sands; strangely, it didn't sink in too far, as Fox carefully lowered the tank into the sands using the on-board G-Diffusers. He then set off northward bound, tracking his progress on the Landmaster's built-in compass, an original attachment from the designers at Space Dynamics.

"Star Fox, check in!" Fox boomed over his tank radio. The communication connection was a little hazy when compared to the Arwing, but Fox could pick out his co-pilots' voices fairly easily.

"This is Peppy. All systems good." Peppy proclaimed, checking his Arwing's systems thoroughly. The EMP waves from Sector X were stronger than expected, and the seasoned pilot was just making sure his systems were working properly.

"Falco here. I'm fine; let's just find Slippy and get outta here fast." Falco barked.

"Alright guys. You remember the plan, right?" Fox queried before they split up.

"Falco and I head south looking for Slippy, you're heading north. If he ain't in either of those areas, we double back here and split off again; me and Falco going west, you going east." Peppy summarised, finishing his checks.

"Enough talkin'. Let's get movin'!" Falco cried, eager to get going.

"Alright then. Roll out, Star Fox!" With that, the two Arwings screwed back on themselves and began to shoot off towards the south, whilst the Landmaster boosted over a dune to roll north. ROB brought the _Great Fox_ up and back into orbit, but not before dropping a marker for the ground team to fall back to if they failed to find Slippy on their destined routes.

Peppy and Falco quickly covered three miles in just a few minutes, with Peppy constantly on his communicator, sending out messages in the hopes that Slippy could contact him and broadcast his crash site. Meanwhile, Falco flied perilously close to the dunes, sinking and rising up and down the sandy mounds, even spinning his Arwing in place just above the desert plains and kicking sand into a pretty fountain around his fighter.

"Watch yerself there, Falco. Sand particles get into yer engines or the G-Diffusers, you'll be in real trouble." Peppy warned his co-pilot.

"Back off, Peppy. I know what I'm doin'." The ace growled in exasperation. Strange he didn't bark it out with pride and arrogance.

"I've known pilots with same kinda skills as you, Falco, but the same kinda cocksureness to boot. And it has never ended well."

"Oh please, not this old story again, old man!" Falco finally barked out, really annoyed by the old-timer's constant warnings.

"Well, stop puttin' yerself into situations where I need to remind you of it, then!" Peppy barked back, the weight of responsibility and wisdom slowly pushing down on the old rabbit's shoulders.

Silence fell over the communications before Falco- in a rare defeated tone- sighed, "Look, Peppy. I ain't too good with words or talkin' about what's goin' on, but… Look, I know I don't say this kinda stuff much, but…" He huffed again, "I just like blowin' off steam, and showin' off helps. I've got stuff from my past that I don't wanna go into, but I think of you guys like family, and I… I just wanna find Slippy soon. I know I give him crap sometimes, but… I don't really mean it, ya know?"

"Perhaps if you opened yerself up a little more and relied on yer flight-mates more often, then maybe you'd be a little better with yer words, son." Peppy reassured with a fatherly-like tone in his humbled voice.

"Maybe…" Falco nervously mumbled. The ace's bravado briefly faded away and showed the young man beneath it: a man who just wanted people to understand him, even if he didn't say much about himself. Perhaps, in the future, Star Fox could come to understand Falco better than the people from the bird's past.

Suddenly, an alarm began to sound on Peppy's radar. "What the-!?" the old rabbit blurted out before directing his gaze towards his radar; seven blips appeared on his scanner and gradually began to filter in close on his position. "Eyes open, Falco! We've got bogeys on our tail!" He then pulled up to the left and charged off into the distance.

"What? Where!?" the surprised Falco yelped, bolting left and right trying to spot their attackers.

"Nine o'clock, at two kilometres! Watch out, they're firing!"

With these directions, Falco pulled up- boosting to move faster- before looping back on himself and charging towards the attackers at blinding speeds and quickly shooting down four fighters before dropping back down and continuing forward down the western corridor. The remaining three attackers peeled off, only to be blasted into a ball of fire by the returning Peppy, who blasted through their shields effortlessly before billowing through an explosion, brushing the smoke cloud out with his fighter's wings.

As Falco flew down to spot the crash sites of the enemy fighters, only to make a surprised forgone conclusion: "Venomian Army!? What are these jokers doin' out here?"

"They could be after Slippy! I'll try raisin' Fox!" Peppy turned to his communicator. "Fox, can ya hear me, boy? This is Peppy." Nothing but radio static cackled through. Peppy continued, "Fox, if you can hear me, watch yer six! Falco and I have come under fire from Andross' forces. Stay alert, and keep yer eyes open! Don't worry about us; it'll take more than a couple of Venomian fighters to take the two of us down. Stay safe, son." Peppy moved away from his communicator, deactivating the broadcaster so as to silence the static.

Falco swung in close with Peppy, continuing down their route towards the six-hundred kilometre marker that marked the end of their search territory. The ace then related, "You kinda look after Fox like a son, ya know."

The old rabbit chuckled, "I knew his father for a long time… Guess I see him as the son I never had. Not that I'm complaining I had a daughter instead. Lucy's the love of mah life, and I wouldn't give her up for anything."

"Heh… whatever you say, old timer." Falco chuckled, a humble tone coming through. "Gah! Enough of this joshin', we need to find Slippy!"

"You're not all wrong there, Falco." The two then set off again after noting that they were approaching a five-mile marker.

 _Meanwhile…_

Fox patrolled his chosen route in silence, his Landmaster tank roaming through the desert plains, climbing up-and-over the dunes with ease. Up ahead, a sandstorm began to charge through, blanketing the horizon with a strong wall of sand and dust so thick that even the radar on the Landmaster (another customisation) couldn't detect what lay within. As Fox rolled closer to the storm, he had to rely on a camera placed just blow the stem of the frontal cannon, which moved with the barrel. And as the dust became thicker and the storm grew stronger, the camera displayed an ever decreasing field of vision. It wasn't long before Fox couldn't see what was in front of him beyond a metre radius. Just a never-ending cloud of sand and dust. Every so often, the Landmaster would tip on one side or the other, as Fox seemingly passed over a solid construct before settling again. The young man looked down to his distance monitor, and recognised that he had travelled about ten miles from his drop-off point. He still had a long way to go before he reached his boundary limit, however; at least another twenty kilometres or more.

After journeying through the dust-storm for about an hour, Fox's view began to clear, and his field of vision slowly expanded; one metre quickly became ten, and ten soon evolved into three hundred metres, and further on until the curvature of the planet obscured whatever laid beyond the horizon. Within the horizon, Fox noted the large quantity of Titanian ruins scattered throughout the desert plains. Great stone pillars that stood tall and firm amongst the sands, or archways that had crumbled into the sands long ago. The ornate designs chipped into the architecture was fascinating to look at, even for the architecture 'noob' Fox McCloud. He didn't have much of a great interest in archaeology, but even he could recognise the brilliant craftsmanship and the heart-and-soul forged into the Titanian cities and temples. He even held a hidden respect and admiration for their pride in their work, as even now- 2 million years since the collapse of their society- their constructs stood the test of time. Fox wondered if these ruins would still be standing in another 2 million years.

Suddenly, his train of thought was brought back to searching for his missing comrade, as he spotted three silhouettes charging through the skies towards him. It wasn't long before he could properly identify the shadows; enemy fighters, coming in hot. Fox directed the Landmaster cannon directly at the fighters and held down on the trigger, storing laser energy before releasing, blasting off a green ball of energy at the leading fighter, ripping through its nose and rupturing its engines at the back. The explosive fire blasted outward as the remaining fighters continued their charge. Fox then fired a near-endless volley of green bolts against the fighters, blasting another out of the sky whilst the last fighter pulled away. Fox was quick to correct his aim and shot another volley after his last target, blasting it out of the sky within just a few seconds firing. As he rolled over to the crash site, Fox was shocked to realise that Venomian forces had arrived on Titania, a dead planet and recognised military testing ground.

Then a horrible truth hit him. _They could be after Slippy!_ He thought, a panicked expression ripping across his face. But he knew that he couldn't just turn back to reunite with Peppy and Falco. He had to keep going on to be sure that Slippy was or wasn't to the north. His journey was long and slow, with the occasional Venomian squad barely kicking up much of a fight before being disposed of. After about another four hours, Fox had reached his boundary marker; no distress signals, no signs of a crash, and no word from Slippy. A defeated Fox huffed in despair and turned back, gliding over the sand dunes and through the storms that flared up along the plains. Again, Venomian fighters attempted to halt his progress, but they weren't much of a challenge; the Landmaster's cannon easily shot them down, or the foolish pilots made the mistake of trying to fly straight into the heart of a sandstorm.

After returning to their starting point (marked with a flag bearing the Star Fox emblem), Fox halted the tank and sat around, waiting for Falco or Peppy to call in over the radio. After travelling through the deserts of Titania for about nine hours (and an extra thirty minutes or so to deal with Venomian attackers), Fox was exhausted from the passage of time, and took the wait to a have quick nap. Even at its maximum speed and boosting, the Landmaster was nowhere near fast enough to search the dead sands within a few hours. As he slept, Fox pondered over Falco and Peppy's search; they could go much faster than the Landmaster at non-boosting speeds (the Landmaster could reach 128 kilometres an hour- or 80 mph- whereas the Arwings could easily reach Mach 1 at 1195 kilometres an hour, or 717 mph), but the Arwings had to fly over the sands in order to search for Slippy (thus necessitating a much slower cruising speed to detect the missing Arwing). Even then, the Arwings could still likely move faster than the Landmaster. Perhaps Falco and Peppy encountered more resistance and were distracted more easily; the Landmaster- as a nigh-indestructible powerhouse on tank-treads- could easily fire laser bolts into the sky, cut through a starfighter and carry on in the same direction. On the other hand, the Arwings would have to duck and dive around their attackers just as they would in a space battle, using wits and skill to outmanoeuvre their opponents and take them out. Add in the often-times obstructions of a planet- such as buildings, landscapes, etc.- and the Arwings had to dodge more things on a planet than in the vacuum of space, where the landmasses there were often quite easily avoided or used as cover.

By now, Fox had been resting for about an hour, and had entered a light sleep; he could hear the faint sandstorms that whipped up around him, the sands that brushed over the Landmaster, the flapping of the flag in the wind, the howling of windstorms in the distance, yet he refused to become too alert. Star Fox hadn't had much time to rest during this mission, and even his resting state after Fichina didn't rest him properly, due to it being more medical rest than actual rest. Meanwhile, his fellow pilots had taken that time to rest and recover better than Fox could have. He stayed here for another hour before slowly drifting into a rapid-eye-movement sleep. His eyes darted about all over the place, his arms and ears twitched to the outside noise, and his heart beat increased and decreased rapidly. Another hour almost went by when-

"-*****-x, can you h-*****-? -***-eat, can ya hear me, Fox? It's Pep-**-! I repeat again, can ya hear me, Fox? This is Peppy; Falco and I are returning to the drop-off to head west."

Fox awoke from his nap in a slight daze, fumbling around in the Landmaster before finally reaching for the radio and sleepily mumbling, "I hear you, Peppy…" He let out a loud yawn before continuing, "No sign of Slippy, then?"

"Negatory. Guy's got himself lost on this backwater planet. Man, he can be such a pain in the ass." Falco grumbled, flying overhead. "Ya know what? I think the tank suits you bettah, Fox."

Fox casually traced the Landmaster cannon to the overhead Arwing, tracking Falco as he circled above the beacon like a vulture. "Why don't 'cha come down here for a closer look, Falco?" the lead bore a large devilish grin across his muzzle as he teased the ace.

"I'll pass, Fox." Falco retorted, barely able to retain his prior arrogance.

"Hey now, you two." Peppy chimed in. "We've got bigger problems to deal with, without you two hotheads tryin' kill each other."

Fox began to lower the cannon. "I'm only playing with him, Peppy."

"Y-Yeah… Just playin', old timer." Falco subtly stammered.

"Alright then, let's get back to the search. We remember the plan, right?"

Fox and Falco almost simultaneously repeated the course of action- "Fox heads east, Falco and Peppy heading west"- before Falco blurted out, "Can we get goin' already? Sittin' around's makin' me cranky."

Fox repositioned himself in the cockpit of the Landmaster, took the controls and proclaimed, "Move out, Star Fox!" Fox spun the Landmaster round so as to face east, whilst Falco and Peppy set off in a hurry towards the west.

Before Peppy dropped out of radio distance, he quickly exclaimed, "By the way, Fox. Watch yerself out there; Falco and I came across Venomian ships."

"Don't worry. I've seen them too. Looks like we need to find Slippy. Fast." Fox boosted forward, effortlessly climbing over a dune and slipping down the other side.

"Agreed. Good huntin', son!" Peppy proclaimed just as the radio turned to static.

After about an hour went by, Fox noted the sun slightly bearing down. Titania never experienced true night-time hours, as the Lylat stars continuously bombarded the planet with solar rays, keeping the planet permanently lit with sunlight. Even as the sun seemingly set, the solar rays never faded into dark, instead the skies turned from the regular blueish tint to a thick orange hue. By the time it would become dark enough for night to settle in, the sun was already rising again, constantly bathing the "Red Planet" in solar rays. Good thing the planet was abandoned; constant sunlight would be severely disruptive for any residents, not to mention the health hazards such as the solar radiation and skin cancers that inevitably flare up. The Star Fox lead pondered whether the ancient Titanians suffered this; then again, a lot has changed to Titania in 2 million years, so perhaps the day cycles were different back then.

As he continued over the dunes, Fox soon found himself approaching rocky terrain; a valley strip at around the 250 kilometre marker heading east. As Fox approached the valley, his cannon camera picked up a small group of Venomian fighters above; the vulpine traced their movements and unleashed a hailstorm of laser bolts after them, quickly knocking them out of the skies and causing a small metal rainstorm as they plummeted to the ground hundreds of feet below. They crashed in a fiery mushroom _**BOOM**_ , their wings breaking free and tossing through the air like thrown knives. By now, Fox was in the depths of the valley, the rocky formations slowly rising in height with every ten metres Fox traversed further in. When Fox finally hit the lowest ground, he had sunk below the desert surface by about a hundred-and-fifty feet. The valley walls above almost managed to blot out the sunlight- with large coves of shade cast deep within the valley walls- but the orange glow of the sky still bore down on Fox, even at such a great distance from the surface. Fox's journey through this valley- while unnervingly silent- was a breeze with no attacking forces to distract him.

When he began to ascend after about half an hour in the valley, Fox turned back to his radio. "ROB, any news on Slippy's distress signal?"

 _"Distress signal still broadcasting. Exact location is negative. Boosting radio waves for clarity."_ The robot spluttered from the _Great Fox_ , which had anchored itself in the orbital zone of Titania; just enough that the planet's gravitational pull wouldn't drag it down whilst keeping out of the way of the debris ring that circled the planet.

As Fox continued his ascension back to the surface of Titania, the static on his radio went wild. He took the talkie, cleared his throat and boomed out, "This is Fox McCloud, lead pilot of the Star Fox Team. Can anyone read me? Over." The static buzzed and fizzed loudly as the Landmaster continued to ascend. "Repeat, this is Fox McCloud of the mercenary team Star Fox. This there anyone out there? Over." The static continued to buzz louder, but occasionally a faint sound struck through the white noise. Fox's ear twitched to the oddity in the audio and was about to broadcast again when suddenly-

"Can an-******-r me? My -*********-ppy T-***- I've be-****-wned on Tit-***-a. Ca-***-yone hear m-me?"

"Slippy?! Is that you!?" Fox exclaimed, his voice cracking from surprise and a sense of hope.

The static was still strong, but the voice came in stronger: "F-Fox! Help m-me out! My wings' are totalled!"

Fox sighed in relief. Slippy was okay! A little roughed up and his Arwing damaged, but the frog was alive. "It's good to hear your voice again, Slip. Hang in there, buddy; we're on our way." Fox changed his channel back the _Great Fox_. "ROB, can you raise Falco and Peppy? Tell 'em I've found Slippy."

 _"Affirmative! Relaying message."_ A brief pause went by before the other Star Fox pilots broadcasted their messages through the _Great Fox_ 's communicator.

Peppy's voice came in first. _"Good work, Fox! Falco and I'll be with ya shortly!"_

Falco came in next. _"Make sure that frog doesn't get himself killed, Fox. We'll be there soon!"_

Fox put his radio off to one side as he breached the surface and rode out onto level ground. The valley opened out to a field of uphills and downhills with Titanian ruins erupting from within the hot sands; some of the older pillars collapsed as the Landmaster rolled by. Fox even had to boost passed some of the ruins as they toppled over as he passed beneath them. Ahead, more Venomian fighters began to strafe the Landmaster with fire from above. The tank continued on unfazed by the attack. As the Venomians pulled back up to line up another strafing charge, Fox turned the cannon and blasted three of the fighters out the sky. As Fox continued on through the sand fields, more Venomians swooped down from the skies, strafing the Landmaster and tearing up the ruins. Just as before, Fox made short work of these attackers, blasting them with laser bolts from the Landmaster's cannon and watching them tumble from the skies.

As Fox travelled into another valley, a number of creatures emerged from the dunes, jabbing at the Landmaster with pincers or throwing rocks at the tank up on the hills. Fox had to roll the Landmaster away from the pincer creatures and the falling rocks, blasting both types of creature with his cannon and quickly eradicating them. As Fox trundled through the valley, a large spider-like creature slammed down in front of the Landmaster, forcing Fox to stop in his tracks and battle the beast. The large arachnid-type creature spat… something at the Landmaster, which Fox managed to roll out of the way before unleashing a barrage of laser bolts. As the bolts hit the being's carapace, however, the bolts skimmed and shot off into the skies. With little options left, Fox continued this small battle, dodging the spider's spit and pincers as it slammed them after the Landmaster; at one point, the creature even swiped its pincer, but Fox managed to boost the Landmaster into the air and avoid the swiping attack. As he landed again, however, the beast spat at him again and caught him, covering the Landmaster.

"Ah, crap! I can't move!" Fox exclaimed, irked by his carelessness. He rocked the controls to and fro to no avail. Even his main cannon was locked in place, he couldn't trace the turret and aim at the creature.

He was stuck, and looking death straight in the face.

Fox prepared for the inevitable as the creature raised a pincer, only for a starfighter to swoop in and strafe the creature with gunfire. The beast's attention was immediately drawn to the starfighter, allowing another one to rush in behind and blast it with a smart bomb before pulling up.

"Thanks for the assist, old man." Falco's cocksure voice squawked over the radio.

"Looks like we caught up." Peppy chimed in. "What's wrong, Fox? Ya catch yerself some stage-fright?"

Fox shook his head. "Thanks for the backup, you guys. That creature hit me with some kind of spit; it's immobilised the Landmaster. Hold on a sec…" Fox revved up the G-Diffuser and pushed forward on the joystick, spitting sand into the air out the back of the Landmaster and slowly digging him in, before the tank suddenly shot forward. Everything then suddenly began to work again; the cannon slowly responded to movement, the joystick pulled to the left and right properly, and Fox even tested the rolling G-Diffusers to make sure they worked correctly. "Looks like I got it working again."

"Haven't 'cha found Slippy yet?" Falco chided.

"He should be just ahead."

"Alright then. Let's pick him up as a team." Peppy concluded, the two Arwings flying overhead whilst the Landmaster ploughed forward at a steady pace.

After another few miles of rocky terrain, Venomian ambushes and creature encounters, the Star Fox Team finally came across a clearing in the valleys and the dunes, where ahead of them was something unlike anything they had seen on Titania before: Trees. Three lone leafless trees… in the middle of nowhere. And among the branches, an Arwing starfighter with a broken wing and burnt-out G-Diffuser. And through the dirtied cockpit- the glass panes coated in dust and sand- sat a green frog, a red cap on his head. Slippy Toad had been found!

"Slippy!" Fox cheered, happy to have found his missing comrade.

"F-Fox! You guys found me! I knew it! I knew you'd come for me!" Slippy cried, overwhelmed to see his friends again. He even let a few tears loose from his eyes.

"A good soldier doesn't leave a man behind, Slip. A good man doesn't, neither." Peppy mused, a weariness to his voice.

"Just cut him out and let's go already." Falco hissed, his prior fears seemingly covered once again. The bird needed a little more time to become better at showing his kinder side.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Standby, Slip." Fox corrected the aim of the Landmaster's turret and targeted the branch that Slippy was caught on.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-W-Wait, you g-g-g-g-g-guys-!" Slippy trembled, but he was too late. The Landmaster bolts struck the trees, opening up the sand dunes and unveiling some kind of fossilised creature from below the sands. An emerald glow beamed out from its skull, before it let out a blood-curdling shriek. "AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" the frog screamed.

"What the hell?!" Fox and Falco yelled simultaneously.

"The Goramorph!? The ancient Titanian Beast of Sacrifice still exists!?" Peppy howled in shock, as it dropped back below the hole, dragging Slippy's Arwing with it.

"Bug-boy's still got Slippy! We gotta save 'im!" Falco snapped, blasting the sands trying to coax the creature back out.

It jumped up again, swatting at the Landmaster, but Fox rolled away whilst blasting its cranial plate with the tank's turret fire, whilst Falco shot in and cut through the arm that held Slippy tightly in its grasp. The arm crumbled and fell from the Goramorph's frame, freeing Slippy's Arwing which crashed softly into a nearby dune.

"You okay, Slippy?" Fox queried amidst his fire.

"My Arwing's gonna need repairs, but I'm green! Take that thing out, guys!" Slippy cheered on from the side-lines.

Fox turned his focus back to the creature before him. The Goramorph, as Peppy identified it, the Titanian Beast of Sacrifice. 2 million years ago, the ancient Titanians revered these creatures as deities to be feared and respected through ritualistic sacrifice; according to legend, the Titanians would offer their first harvests to the underground-dwelling Goramorphs at their temples. Now, the Goramorphs are believed to be extinct along with the Titanians, but lo and behold, here was one before the Star Fox Team. But, as Star Fox (minus Falco; he rarely paid attention to history, preferring the here-and-now) watched and pondered, this creature was different from what the Titanians revered; this creature was hostile, and far too large when compared to Titanian architecture. Ironically, the Titanians were quite small-in-stature, but even then, the Goramorphs could pass under their cities without causing much attention; this creature would have easily disturbed the ancient society.

Star Fox focused their efforts on disabling the Goramorph's attack strategy by disabling its arms, shooting the last three from its skeletal frame before it jumped into the air, seemingly attempting to eat Falco and Peppy as they buzzed around its cranial plate like flies. As it slumped back into the sands, its ribcage sprung open, exposing its heart to the elements.

"Quick, Fox! Its chest is open! Aim for the heart!" Peppy shouted as he swooped away from the beast.

From his seat in the Landmaster, Fox readied the cannon and began to blast the Goramorph with a volley of laser bolts, until the heart exploded into a glorious shower of flesh and green blood, causing the rest of the Goramorph's skeletal body to blast apart, before its skull slammed into the sands, the strange glow in its eyes fading out.

"Alright!" Fox cheered, rolling passed the deceased creature. "All aircraft, check in!"

"Slippy here. My wing is crushed and one of my G-Diffusers is completely busted. It's gonna take me a little time to repair it. But that's beside the point; thank you, guys! You came to help me! Thank you guys so much!"

Falco scoffed, "We're always savin' your hide, Slip. Be more careful next time!"

"He's got a point, Slip."

"ROB, bring the _Great Fox_ in for a pick-up. Peppy, think you could give Slippy a pull?" Fox queried.

"No need, Fox. I can still fly the Arwing."

"Alright then. When we get off Titania, we're moving onto Macbeth, Andross' weapons facility."

And with that, the three Arwings took off into the skies (with Slippy lagging behind due to the damages), whilst the Landmaster continued its slow drudge across the Titanian desert as the _Great Fox_ steadily made its descent for pickup…


	11. Chapter 10- Venom, Recovering an Asset

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 10: Venom, Recovering an Asset

The skies over Venom loomed as an Androssian shuttle shot along the horizon towards Andross' fortress, as acidic rain fell from the clouds. Aboard the shuttle, a small crack team of recovery commandos- "Recovery Team Echo"- transported an injured comrade back to headquarters. The commandos were under a strict deadline; their cargo was Andrew Monkeyvitch, nephew to Lord Andross, who had been abandoned on Fichina about three days prior by the mercenary Star Wolf Team. Andrew's condition was seen as near-fatal…

 _Three days ago…_

 _The dogfight between Star Fox and Star Wolf had ended. Silence had fallen over the valley at the site of the Cornerian Army outpost. The Star Fox Team had managed to recover their Arwing fighters, re-grouped and left aboard their mothership Great Fox. Amongst the incoming blizzard, however, the fires of the outpost overshadowed another burning wreck; the Venomian Wolfen fighter pilot, Andrew Monkeyvitch. The snow monkey had been shot down by the enemy and left for dead by his comrades, the mercenary Star Wolf Team. Emerging from the crash of his Wolfen fighter, Andrew suffered a severe concussion and distortion; he could barely recognise where he was, how he got there, or why he was there in the first place. His attire- a blood red jumpsuit with a golden collar, black boots and a bright blue scarf- was burnt and torn from a violent occurrence. Heat bore on his back as he stumbled around a seated source of light. His vision blurred, his legs unstable, his body freezing. He tripped over his own feet as they were quickly buried by the snow and he collapsed face first, hitting his face hard and knocking himself out._

 _Andrew dreamed of a summer's day as a coronation took place; his red uniform had morphed to that of a General's, and his chest was adorned with medals and epaulettes hung from his shoulders. He marched forward towards a newly crowned emperor, who proudly recognised him as "nephew". Andrew turned to face the thousands within the cheering crowds, raising a hand to wave; the cheering roared louder, the people jumped in triumph and Andrew was happy. But then swift clouds blotted out the sun, and shadowy creatures screeched through the skies, casting fireballs into the crowds and immolating the populace. Andrew's face of pride turned to horror, as his emperor disappeared from sight into the chaos, the screams of the people who praised him echoed through his mind. The scene atop a large hill soon crumbled away, as Andrew tumbled into an abyss of screams, swirling vortexes and a damning laugh. As he fell, all Andrew could do was scream for his idol:_

 _"UNCLE ANDROSS… … …"_

 _Andrew awoke- hours, possibly days- later, the snow having gently rested over him like a blanket. But this blanket was a frozen snapback to reality, and the snow monkey- his usually red skin now the same colour as his white fur- desperately dug to the surface, clawing at the thick snow with his bare hands. His gloves were soon soaked, and his hands soon began to freeze, but Andrew knew he could not stop. He had to be free. Snow poured down onto him as he tunnelled up to escape, gently settling on his uniform and face, further soaking him and making his movements harder. He was concussed, freezing and fatigued from lack of proper sleep, food and water. After what felt like an hour shovelling snow through his hands, Andrew slowly began to see light, or a lighter picture than his darkness under the snow. He soon broke the surface and pulled himself from a frozen grave, only to find himself again lost in a sea of white blankness. The blizzard was at its peak, the harsh winds and snow shards cutting through his skin like needles. Andrew desperately hugged himself to keep the heat in, but it was too much; the howling winds cut through him, and his soaked uniform did nothing to bare the elements. What was worse, the heat source he had at his back so long ago- as he was now able to realise- was the flaming wreck of his Wolfen fighter, and it had since gone out, likely doused by the snowstorm. His teeth clattered together as he stumbled through the snow, hopelessly trying to cling to his own body heat as he slumped- inch by inch- towards his Wolfen, the blizzard seemingly becoming stronger and stronger the closer he came. In truth, his body was shutting down; he was out of energy, and out of time. If he couldn't get somewhere warm, Andrew very much believed he would die on this tundra-like planet._

 _Andrew slogged through the freezing sheets of storm, slumping to one knee as he gasped for breath (the biting frost gradually stealing it from him), before standing again and shuffling further towards his hope-spot in the cockpit of his fighter. To seal himself off from the frozen storms, to remove his soaked clothing, to sit and wait whilst his uncle's forces came for him. But then, he wondered; how long had he been here? How long had it been since the Venomian Army pulled out of Fichina? How long had it been since-_

 _"Star Wolf…"_

 _That was all he could muster to wheeze between breaths as the realisation hit him. Star Wolf lead pilot- Wolf O'Donnell- had attacked him before he could take his fight to Star Fox, crippling his ship and by association his skills. He was left open to an attack, which Star Fox seized and struck, downing the Star Wolf rookie and sending him out of the battle. The crash must have knocked him out and caused his severe migraine. Andrew soon made it to his fighter, but collapsed before he could jump inside. The snowstorm howled and warped around him, cutting through his uniform with sharp hail shards and penetrating him down to the bone. He gasped for air as he laid a hand on the body of the downed Wolfen fighter, but he could catch none. His attempts to hoist himself onto the fighter were in vain, and he slumped down to the ground, exhausted and near-frozen. Between each gasp of air was a shivering quiver, as Andrew had come to expect the worst: he had been abandoned on Fichina, and left to die forgotten, simply a footnote in the rise of his beloved uncle's new world order. The snow monkey almost passed out again- his eyes drooping as he drew in his thin breaths- but he was more determined; his eyes shot open, his arms wrenched onto the Wolfen, and he dragged himself upon the fighter. It took all his strength and damn-near killed him, but Andrew as finally able to crawl into his cockpit, seal it off from the cold harshness of this tundra-like world and removed most of his clothing, leaving him in just a pair of black undershorts. He was still freezing, and the cockpit wasn't that much warmer than outside, but the blizzard could not reach him in here, so he waited until he was properly rested before moving forward. No doubt he would be starving, dehydrated and likely still freezing cold, Andrew had to rest and closed his eyes, his body curled up tight to lock in his own heat…_

Back aboard Recovery Team Echo's shuttle, Andrew was laid in a bed-bracket, strapped down so he didn't roll out as the shuttle curved and dipped and dove around the asteroids of the Lylat system or even the lay of the land on planet Venom. As the pilot took one corner a little too late, he barely avoided a cliff-edge, missing the wing of the shuttle by a hair. The leader of the recovery team was not impressed.

"Watch where you're going, lieutenant. You almost got us killed back there." The leader barked as they passed the near-fatal collision, smacking his pilot around the ear.

"Apologies, captain. It won't happen again."

The captain then left the pilot to his duty and returned to the main body of the shuttle to check on Andrew, who still tossed and turned, still freezing from his time on Fichina…

 _Andrew awoke some time later, his temperature still below freezing, but otherwise recovered somewhat. His stomach growled and his mouth was dry, but his migraine had ceased somewhat, allowing to focus better on his survival. He rummaged around in his cockpit, looking to find his long-range transmitter so he could call in for help. He doubted if Wolf had reported him missing in action, and believed that the Venomian Army thought him dead. Andrew finally located it after about half an hour searching; the long-range transmitter was a small black box-looking object with a microphone and audio receiver built onto the front. Andrew took the microphone- a thin detachable stick- and tuned in a dial on the side of the radio to the Venomian frequency. He huffed and puffed as he got his breath, and in as clear a voice as he could produce, Andrew proclaimed:_

 _"Mayday, Mayday! This is Andrew Monkeyvitch of the Androssian Empire, nephew to Lord Andross and esteemed pilot… I have been downed on Fichina, and am in need of evacuation… If anyone can hear me, please hurry! I don't think I have much time left… I have no rations, no water and no winterised clothing for dealing with the blizzards on this blasted world! ... Please hurry!"_

 _He couldn't rest the transmitter carefully as it took him all his energy to send out his message as clearly as possible. He collapsed and dropped the transmitter under his seat, his arms flopped down beside him and he sprawled out in the cockpit. He continued to huff and huff as he watched the ever-strengthening snowstorm outside, the shards of ice and hail tinkering off the cockpit glass and lightly scratching it. The glass wasn't likely to break, but the Fichinian storms were known for their savagery. Andrew once again entered a slumber, his eyes slowly clamping shut as he sunk down into his seat._

 _He entered another dream; he stood at the helm of a Venomian cruiser as it cut through the skies of Corneria, a locust-like swarm of Venomian fighters slipping down to attack the Cornerian settlements. He stood tall and proud in a General's uniform similar to the one from the coronation, as he bore a devilish grin whilst Venomian fighters laid siege to the Cornerian countryside. Pillars of fire burned into the skies, the screams of terrified civilians echoed throughout the streets, and Andrew watched on in sinister delight and stood proud upon the decking of the cruiser he commanded, the hot wind billowing through his overcoat and gently brushing through his fur. His dark smile never once failed him, even as Cornerian fighters bombed around his head; as fighters- both enemy and ally alike- exploded around him yet failed to knock his stance loose; as some fighters zoomed passed him barely inches from him, and he stood as proud and tall as when this dream began. And that smile… still with him even as the day slowly shifted to night, the hot air turning to a cold chill. The bright burning glow was turned to a dark smoking blackness, and suddenly Andrew's smile faded from his face. His stance loosened, and soon the fighters that almost smashed into him were now able to buffet him off-balance. The howls of the G-Diffusers as they went passed startled and confused him until one such fighter crashed onto the cruiser decking. The cockpit imploded and cast into the air as a shadowy figure emerged; a bull-sized, lion-fearing mass of horror. Andrew pulled a blaster rifle on the creature as it limped towards him; slowly at first, as if injured from the sudden crash. As Andrew continued to fire endless laser shots at it, however, the limping thing came closer at a faster rate with every strike. Andrew continued to move steadily back whilst he shot the creature to no avail. Meanwhile, the creature's movements returned to something more akin to a normal walking pace; the sluggish limp had evolved into a standard slow walk. The slow walk soon became a faster-paced walk, until the creature was fully lunging after Andrew. The shadow now expanded in size, the black mist quickly enveloping the area and not long after that, the entire sky above. Andrew's face had retorted into a look of fear and horror; he had nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide, and no way of fighting back. The titan-sized eclipsing shadow stretched down with long gangly arm and seized Andrew by the throat, pulling him into the sky amidst a black fog. The arm raised the monkey to a silhouette of a face which contorted over and over before forming a solid state of a mean-pointed muzzle with fiery eyes that burned through the mist and into Andrew's soul. The snow monkey cried and shrieked in terror as the muzzle opened and growled a series of words in a voice that took the breath from Andrew:_

 _"You're nothin' more than dead weight, Monkeyvitch. You're only kept around cos your uncle feels sorry for you. Once he's got what he wants outta ya, he'll snuff you out… and toss ya to the_ _ **wolves.**_ _"_

 _The shadowy lupine then tossed Andrew aside with a thunderous laugh, the black fog loosening its grip on the helpless monkey as he tossed through the skies toward the ground, flying besides fighters and cruisers alike, screaming in fear as he came closer to smashing the ground, inch by inch, mile by mile. As he was about to splat against the cold dead countryside of planet Corneria below him, however, he slammed harmlessly onto a hard surface. When he opened his eyes and looked around, there was… nothing. No burning fields. No battlefields above. No rainstorms of downed fighters or battlecruisers. Simply a blank void-like canvas stretched before him, the light of which he could barely see. There was just nothing. Off in the distance, a hushed voice whispered something; Andrew stumbled around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, and listening closer to hear what was said. It wasn't long until he was able to narrow down the source, and ran in that direction, the voice becoming louder and louder with each step forward. Andrew panted violently as he continued to run towards the voice, which was now clearly audible, but still faint enough that Andrew couldn't make out the words just yet. With each presumed mile, the voice grew until Andrew could hear it clearly. The words made him stop dead in his tracks and call back out to the voice to speak. The voice responded in kind:_

 _"Wake up…"_

 _"Who are you? Show yourself!"_

 _"Wake up…"_

 _"What is it? Come out! I know you are there!"_

 _"Wake up…"_

 _"WHO ARE YOU?!"_

 _"Wake-"_

 _"-Up, Andrew." The recovery team captain bellowed to the awoken monkey, whose eyes ripped open to show bloodshot sclera and weary lids. "You're awake. Good. Do you know how long you've been on Fichina for, Andrew Monkeyvitch?"_

 _Andrew could barely focus on what was being said to him, let alone respond coherently. He mumbled a series of words, such as "Lord Andross… Uncle… Wolf… Stars…" and "Help…" before slipping out of consciousness again._

 _"Let's move, Recovery Echo. Lord Andross wants this fool saved, and we shall deliver. Kong, get over here and get this dead weight out of this cockpit."_

 _A larger simian- more of a gorilla than a monkey- stomped over to the cockpit as the captain- an ape of sorts- stepped aside, allowing the gorilla 'Kong' to clamber onto the Wolfen and effortless pull the slumbering Andrew from the fighter. Kong then crossed the field towards the recovery team's shuttle. The snowstorms had died down now, but as the team's planetary specialist pointed out, another one was due in shortly. The captain- Cornelius Sun- rallied a retreat and immediate evacuation back to Venom._

 _"What about the Wolfen fighter, captain?" the shuttle pilot queried._

 _"It'll have to stay, Lieutenant. We need to get out of here before Andross' nephew loses what's left of his sanity…"_

 _And with that, Recovery Team Echo boarded their shuttle just before the next blizzard set in and blasted off Fichina in a hurry, barely managing to dodge the storm…_

 _Three days later…_

Recovery Team Echo finally began their approach to Andross' fortress, the acidic seas boiling and brewing between the desolate lands beneath them. Captain Sun stood in the cockpit behind the pilot- Lieutenant Spider Monkey- who charged towards the expansive Venomian castle at full speed. The barren plains of Venom leading up to Andross' fortress were lifeless and devoid of landmasses for Monkey to almost collide with. It was only a few minutes before the shuttle began to lower at one of the fortress landing pads. The jets blasted against the metal pads, bursting out at all angles as the shuttle carefully dropped down. Within seconds, the jets slowly died as the boarding ramp slammed open, with Sun directing Kong out onto the pad with a stretcher in tow, leading the gorilla bruiser towards an interior chamber. Monkey stayed with the ship, whilst Sun and Kong disappeared into the Venomian castle.

Sun and Kong charged through the hallways of the dark castle, bending and jerking down new corridors towards the castle infirmary close to the centre of the fortress, the unconscious Andrew asleep upon a stretcher. As they burst in, the stark contrast struck the pair and blinded them; gone were the dark hallowing halls of the castle, and in they stepped towards a room clad in bright blue and white, the deep foreboding Venomian architecture replaced with simple comforting Cornerian design. Sun and Kong wheeled the stretcher over to a bed behind a sheet and swiftly yet calmly swapped Andrew to the bed, awaiting for the doctor help settle the poor monkey into his recovery. Doctors and nurses in the employ of the Venomian Army flooded the infirmary, quickly flushing the two commandos out. Sun and Kong then rested outside for hours in the dark gloomy corridors as the echoes of the castle seemingly bounced from wall to wall, ringing in their ears and cutting them through.

The hours drained by, the anxiety and insecurity of what was happening weighed down on them. Andrew may have been a fool hated by most of the Venomian Army (with many believing that even his own uncle Andross loathed having him around), but to see him in such a state troubled everyone. Sun contemplated just _why_ he saved Andrew and why he took such great care; could he truly not see another person suffer so much, or was the truth a little more self-concerning? Did he want to see Andrew recover, or did he just want to escape Andross' wrath? The captain shook his head and huffed, conflicted in his thoughts. Kong sat in silence, his thoughts completely unfocused on the situation. He was just doing what he was told to do, and he didn't think of much else.

The hours continued on before the echoes of heaving breaths rung down the corridors. Before long, a huge hulking figure of white, red and gold appeared as if to have spawned from the shadows themselves and stood before Sun and Kong. Sun couldn't see the figure clearly at first, but sprung to attention (awakening a sleeping Kong as he did so) and stood firm. He was in the presence of Lord Andross.

"Lord Andross, sir. Andrew has been recovered from Fichina and the medical staff are seeing to his condition." Sun proclaimed, a still rather tired Kong slowly slipping down to sleep again before jolting back up.

Andross slumped over and looked Sun straight in the visor. Lucky the visor was a solid state, Sun thought. He didn't want to think of the idea of an angry cosmic being like Andross staring directly into his eyes. The would-be emperor soon crossed a large grin on his face, and boomed, "You are the commando responsible for the recovery of my… nephew from Fichina, correct?"

"Affirmative, my lord. Captain Cornelius Sun of Recovery Team Echo. This is Kong, my heavy. Our pilot awaits at our shuttle."

Andross' grin slowly faded as he glanced towards the infirmary. "Is he still alive?"

Sun looked back to the light coming from within. "He was when the doctors took over."

Andross grew silent before returning his gaze to Sun and Kong. "Could you ask for Star Wolf to see me in the infirmary, Captain Sun?"

"Affirmative, my lord." Sun began to walk away with Kong in tow before stopping to query, "Do you wish for the entire team, or merely its captain, Lord Andross?"

Andross had swooped over to the infirmary and was about to open the doors before he growled in a sinister gravel, "Just bring them to me…"

Sun and Kong once again patrolled through the gothic-like corridors of Andross' castle, weaving and bending through the intertwined halls like a snake hunting in the long grass. Despite the seemingly maze-like complex, Sun and Kong quickly and easily reached the barracks in the southern quadrant of fortress. And it was a short time before they found the three remaining pilots of Star Wolf, hiding out in a darkened canteen. Sun and Kong passed by various other monkeys, apes and lizards under the Venomian Army as they marched towards the dank corner where Star Wolf sat in predatory silence. All three pilots- Wolf, Leon and Pigma- simply watched as the Echo commandos approached, their evil-like eyes glaring at the simians who would dare head in their direction, even dare to speak with them. Alas, these were no lesser peons of Andross' empire.

Sun raised a hand to Kong, stopping the hulking and slumped gorilla in his tracks, whilst the commando captain stepped forward, leaving the hustle and bustle of the barracks and dropping into a small game of poker between the mercs. The canteen stunk of whiskey, tobacco and a stale potato crisp smell. At the centre, the game's first three cards; a nine of clubs, king of spades and jack of hearts. Pigma groaned aloud and folded, Leon met the current bet with fifty Venomian coin chips, whilst Wolf raised to a hundred.

The dealer placed the next card down, but Sun broke into the game: "Lord Andross requests your attendance. He waits for you in the infirmary."

Wolf howled, "Ah, dammit. I was sure I had a winnin' hand there." He threw his cards face up; the ten and queen of spades to match the newly-paced jack.

"I should have known." Leon hissed, throwing down his cards too. "You have been cheating, captain." Leon too had a queen of spades, as well as the queen of hearts.

"Didn't call a bluff, Leon. I might've gotten away with it."

"W-Wait a minute…" Pigma stammered, facing his cards down. This drew Wolf's ire, but the swine ignored his shouting. "A-Andross wants to see… all of us?"

"Just get over to the infirmary, on the double. I'm sure Lord Andross will deal with you there." Sun turned to walk away, but felt something pull on his arm. He looked back to see a grey furred sleeve tugging against him.

Wolf stood from the table and his frame became lit under the stronger light. His top was now wrapped around his waist, a black T-shirt with a tribal wolf design- in pure white- was emblazoned across his chest, and his arms were exposed to reveal the lupine's savage bulk. A dead cigar hung from his muzzle, the ash dropping to the floor as he moved and stopped.

"You're part of the team who brought Andross' idiot nephew back, right?" Wolf growled, his dead cigar falling clumsily from his mouth as he spoke. It hit the floor and scattered harmless dust on the tiles.

With cautious eyes, Sun looked back and quizzed, "Why do you wish to know?"

"I've heard about you, Cornelius Sun. You fought during the insurgency way back when. You would've stood against someone like Andross back then. Why fight for him now?"

Sun fully turned back to face the lupine mercenary. Wolf towered over the average-height simian, but Sun was not intimidated. "I could ask the same of you. People change, O'Donnell. As I'm sure you are aware."

"Just answer the question, smartass."

"The Ten Years of Recovery was far too peaceful for my liking, and there's no loyalty to be found in mercenary work. You're the perfect example of a warrior's spirit who's forgotten what loyalty means." Wolf sized up a fist and struck Sun across the chops. He simply growled in anger as the ape briefly lost his balance only to quickly recover. Sun stood firm and concluded, "A true soldier wouldn't strike his allies to silence their thoughts. He'd take their feedback on-board and work towards betterment. You're only working for Lord Andross for the money."

"Yeah, and what the hell makes you any better? When this is all said and done, you're getting a fat stack of cash just like the rest of us."

"Because I will work towards seeing a new age come to the Lylat system. **That** is my payment. Once you've got your reward, you'll simply move on to the next fool offering you, as you say, 'a fat stack of cash'. You hold no honour or loyalty to a cause, O'Donnell." Sun shook himself free from Wolf and stormed off.

Wolf snarled and spat on the floor. He turned back, grabbed his glass from the table and snapped, "High-and-mighty asshole." He knocked back the glass of whiskey, and groaned, "Come on, boys. Let's go see what Andross wants now…"

The three mercenaries- stinking of whiskey and tobacco- marched through the barracks into the winding corridors of the castle. Wolf led from the front, whilst Leon and Pigma followed him. Like him, Wolf's fellow pilots had dressed down following the mission on Fichina and debrief with Andross. Leon was now dressed in a sleek black undersuit lacking shoes (he claimed too much clothing restricted his breathing) whilst Pigma donned a white vest- stained with crisp flavouring and stale ashes- and cargo trousers with black boots. They wandered around before coming across the infirmary, where a doctor waited outside for them.

The doctor wretched from their stink, but nonetheless composed himself to commune with the hirelings. He pointed at Leon and Pigma and pronounced, "You two stay out here. Lord Andross only wishes to speak with O'Donnell for now."

Leon slumped against the wall, whilst Pigma nervously twitched as he sat down. Wolf rolled his eyes and groaned, "Pulled us all away from a game of poker just to speak to me? I'm flattered."

The doctor snarled at him, "Don't fool yourself, O'Donnell. Lord Andross is deeply troubled by your unruly behaviour."

As Wolf brushed passed and opened the door, he mumbled, "Don't get your panties in a twist, doc. Andross' beef isn't your concern." Wolf stepped through and slowly crossed the infirmary hall, each footstep echoing throughout the silent ward. As he passed each exposed bed, Wolf noticed each and every injured Venomian soldier waylaid in battle. Then he came to the last bed on the ward, covered by a curtain. Wolf pulled back the sheet and stepped within, as if he entered another reality. The bright lights in the rest of the ward vanished, only a single light emitted a chilling glow upon the bed. Andrew was still delirious from his time on Fichina, but the colour of his skin had returned to him, albeit not in full. His beloved uncle- a mass of organic mass and synthetic hardware- towered over the bed, holding the snow monkey by the hand.

"You are in good hands now, Andrew. The infirmary staff will see to your quick recovery." The mad tyrant proclaimed, an odd otherworldly tone to his voice.

From weak eyes, Andrew meekly moaned, "Thank you, uncle… you saved me… I knew you would…"

"Rest now, nephew. I have need of you, when you recover." Andross' sinister golden eyes glared as Wolf came into peripheral sight, staring harshly at the lupine mercenary when he halted on the other side of Andrew's bed.

Wolf looked down at his wounded 'comrade' and with a cocky smirk he boasted, "Looks like the idiot's gonna pull through, huh?"

Andross' tense stare erupted into a demonic roar as he seemingly phased straight through the bed, seized Wolf by the throat and slammed the mercenary against the wall. Andrew had seemingly slipped into unconsciousness again and was sleeping, remaining undisturbed by what was happening mere metres from his bed. The tyrant grinded Wolf up the wall higher than he should have been capable of, as the room continued to darken despite the lighting of the infirmary. It was like they had properly stepped into a different room, possibly even a different world.

Andross drew his face- snarling and spitting- directly into Wolf's muzzle. "You should consider yourself very fortunate, Wolf O'Donnell. Andrew was barely a few hours away from certain death, and his death would have been on your hands."

Wolf clawed at Andross' strangely enlarged hand as he squeezed his neck tighter and tighter. Despite this situation, Wolf remained relatively calm; he didn't kick at Andross or even attempt to shout for help. He merely attempted to loosen the mad mogul's grip whilst wheezing out a short response, "W-Well… He ain't dead… A-A-"

"Be silent, O'Donnell." Andross growled beneath a hushed breath. The light in the infirmary seemingly began to return as Andross slowly lowered Wolf back down to the floor, Andrew still sleeping away as if nothing had even happened. Andross' subtle enlargement eased, before he slumped back down to Andrew's side to watch over him. "Despite your insolence, you have proven useful time and time again over these last five years. Impressive work for a man in your line of work."

Wolf crossed his arms in a huff and scoffed, "I don't get paid until you sit your ass on Corneria. And with Star Fox runnin' around, it doesn't look like that's gonna happen."

"And in the possibility that Star Fox and the Cornerian Army breach the garrison above this planet, I have you and your fellows to defend the palace. And if you take them seriously this time, then they shall be crushed thoroughly."

Wolf slowly bore a grin. "It's not a case of possibilities with Star Fox. The kid leading those has-beens is an old friend of mine; we go a little ways back."

"The son of James McCloud." Andross growled with his sinister tone. Wolf's lone eye bulged in shock. "I know your history with the McCloud clan, and if I didn't know any better, I would believe that you allowed McCloud the Second to survive Fichina, **on purpose**."

 _Ah, screw it._ "Guilty as charged." Wolf sneered, his grin still in place.

Andross' face went completely flat and uninterested. "Just make sure they are disposed of, **IF** they reach Venom. I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time we held the Star Fox Team within our grasp."

Wolf's gaze dropped to the floor. It had been five years since the old Star Fox Team had been captured by Andross' first foundation, back when the team consisted of three pilots: Peppy Hare (who managed to escape), Pigma Dengar (who had been secretly on Andross' pay-check for a few years prior), and their leader, James F. McCloud, who perished on that faithful day. Remembering that day reminded Wolf of his fight with James' son Fox on Fichina, and how something in him felt… off, since the encounter roughly three days prior. Wolf then realised something else; the hollow feeling after he beat Fox… it was similar to the one he felt when James died. Despite their differences, Wolf and James held a long-rooted and powerful respect for each other's skills as a pilot and soldier-for-hire. When James was killed, Wolf felt a small part of him (a really small part, he would constantly tell himself) die with the vulpine. The lupine shook his head and stormed out of Andrew's bed, leaving Andross behind.

Before he left earshot, Wolf stopped and barked out, "Do you wanna talk to my guys or…?"

"No… I have no need to speak with them…"

"Good…"

Wolf continued on, the light flooding his frame a distorting his shadow as passed from one glow to the next. He stepped out into the darkness, rallied Leon and Pigma and returned to the barracks as quickly as possible. It was almost night by now, and most of the Venomian soldiers had retired to their bunks by now. Star Wolf saw themselves as no exception, the addition of whiskey warming them up and lightening their heads. They each stripped off their clothes down to some sleeping clothes; Pigma slung his manky vest on the floor beside his bunk, his fat pink slab of a stomach sloshing with whiskey, as he slammed down on his bunk, the mattress sagging through, almost touching the ground. Leon slipped off his undersuit and even removed his underwear- a form-fitting pair of purple trunks- before gliding into his bunk, his unmentionables baring in the cold air of the barracks. Wolf took off his shirt and boots and loosened his sleeves at his waist before climbing the frame of his bunk and thumping down heavily in the bunk. He undid the latch on his eyepatch and slipped the accessory over a pillar on the bunk. He slumped down on his back and heaved, rubbing his lost eye in solemnness. Something was keeping him from sleeping, which his bunkmate called out to him on.

"Can't sleep, captain?" Leon's hushed assassin tones echoed up.

Wolf heaved again, dropping his arm off the side of the bunk. "Leon… do you think I'm an asshole?"

"Why do you ask?"

"We kicked Star Fox's asses back on Fichina. I even kicked the shit of McCloud, I beat him. I've been wantin' to do that for almost twenty damn years. Now I've finally done it… and I just feel like an asshole."

"Your vendetta against Star Fox was with the father, wasn't it? Perhaps your dissatisfaction with defeating Star Fox comes from your inner bitterness towards the older McCloud. Your rivalry was much more personal than against his son after all."

Wolf pondered this for a moment, before scoffing, "Yeah right. Just forget I said anything." Wolf rolled onto one side and snarled as he tossed the words around his head.

Leon- wide-eyed beneath Wolf- merely calmly sighed, "Let those words sit with you, captain. Perhaps you can come to some kind of conclusion with them."

Wolf barked out, "Since when did a cold-blooded assassin know so much about this therapy bullshit?"

"I've spent over thirty years as an assassin, Wolf. For over thirty years, I have looked upon my actions and asked whether I am a sinner or merely a man doing whatever it takes to survive with the only skills he knows."

"I thought you said you were born forty-three years ago."

"As I said, the only skills I know."

Wolf grew silent and rolled onto his other side before settling on his back again. Something still played heavily on his mind, something he was seemingly no closer to solving…


	12. Chapter 11- Macbeth, Venomian Factory

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 11: Mission 4, Planet Macbeth, Venomian Supply Factory

Following the recovery of Slippy Toad from planet Titania, the Star Fox Team moved onto their next objective, one that could decide how long the Venomian Army could truly stand their ground in this war. The mercenaries were headed for Macbeth, the Lylat system's "miner's paradise" of a planet. It was the planet located closest to the twin stars of the system, and rich in valuable minerals and metals. Miners from across the Lylat system would flock towards Macbeth… at least, they did once upon a time. A number of corporations that had set up on Macbeth became corrupted by the seemingly endless mineral deposits of the world, and a 'profits war' broke out, with each corporation attempting to purchase as much land and mines as possible in a bid to outdo the next organisation. Amidst the chaos, Andross had his most loyal officers infiltrate the corporations and 'persuaded' them to work for his new empire. Now, Macbeth serves as the headquarters for black market dealings and illegal weapons manufacturing, specifically serving the Venomian Army, producing weapons, ships and other new technologies for their would-be emperor.

On the bridge of the _Great Fox_ , Fox stood in talks with General Pepper over his team's next objective. "We've retrieved Slippy from Titania, General. You wouldn't believe what we found there!"

"I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Right now, you're moving onto Andross' supplies stockpile, the miner's paradise of Macbeth." Pepper grumbled rather soberly, more from a 'strictly business' perspective rather than any real dread over Star Fox travelling to Macbeth. They had just headed into a military testing ground and come away relatively unharmed, after all.

"It won't be easy taking out their main factory. Any ideas, sir?"

The General pondered over this situation, stroking at his chops in deep thought. He hummed before proclaiming, "Perhaps contacting one of the local gangs may yield some reward. While they're a nuisance to Corneria, many of them have no love for Andross' tyrannical motives. Good luck, Star Fox! Pepper out!"

When Pepper's hologram dissipated, Peppy called Fox over to the back of the bridge. The young vulpine approached the veteran with a sleepy look on his face. The mission had been long and exhausting, and even with his brief sleep on Titania looking for Slippy, Fox was still worn down from the back-to-back fighting. The situation on Macbeth was clear-cut, but Fox simply couldn't think of much when looking at an approach.

"What's up, Peppy?" Fox mumbled, his eyes hanging ajar.

The old rabbit took the Star Fox lead down towards the _Great Fox_ canteen, all the while reassuring Fox he had "an idea". Their elevator ride was silent and quick; the two jumped out at the canteen level, where Peppy began to boil water in a kettle. Fox rested against a wall, his arms hanging beside him and his stance slouched, as if he was about to slump to the floor. Peppy finished with the kettle and handed him a cup of… something.

Looking into it, Fox mumbled, "What's this, Peppy? I thought you were gonna tell about this idea you've got."

"All in due time, son. Drink up, it's coffee. Hopefully wake ya up." The two sat down at a table whilst they supped on their coffee. Fox quickly perked up and again asked for Peppy's idea. The old rabbit cleared his throat and grumbled, "For the past few years now, I've been keepin' an eye on the Macbethian gangs. And one of 'em's caught my eye…" Peppy dug a hand into his duster and pulled out a… business card?

A puzzled Fox dragged the card towards his side of the table and lifted it from the edge. The edges and corners were smoothed (surprising for a gang, sharpened edges could better lead to an improvised weapon) but the defining thing about the card was the emblem of the gang; a silhouette of cat's head, with a fire behind it.

"The Hellfire Cats?" Fox queried as he slid the card back to Peppy.

"They're a gang from the streets of Corneria City… and dropouts from the Academy. Now, their leader is someone you might be surprised to hear from… her name's Katarina Monroe."

Fox's ears pricked up in attention, mid-sip in his coffee. He lowered the mug back down to the table. "Katt Monroe? She's running a gang now?"

"Not just any gang…" Peppy hid the card back in his duster and withdrew a dossier entitled 'Hellfire Cats', sliding it over to Fox. Before raising his mug, he gargled, "Have a read."

The vulpine then read the names aloud: "Felix Kool… Croc Bridger… Lynx, Johnny and Miyu… Peppy, all of these guys used to run with Falco's old gang!"

"Exactly. When Falco disbanded his 'Free-as-a-Bird' gang, Katt picked up the pieces and took her guys to Macbeth and entered them into the Macbeth Zero-G Racin' Series. They're _real_ hot rodders now. And, like Pepper said, they hate Andross. If we make ourselves known to them, I'm sure they'll give us some leads on the Venomian stockpiles."

Fox was impressed and relieved to have such a lead, but something bothered him. "It's a good lead, Peppy, but I don't think Falco would like it; he didn't exactly leave his gang on a good note."

"I understand where you're comin' from, son. But in this life, difficult choices have to be made. Besides, Falco doesn't necessarily have to know or even come along. We're not goin' out to find the stockpiles ourselves this very instance. Katt's team can just give us some tips on how we can take out the stockpile."

Fox hummed and grumbled in conflict, sipping from his cup of coffee in thought. On one hand, he knew his team wouldn't be able to find a way to the Venomian stockpiles quickly, and the longer they stayed on Macbeth, the more time Andross' forces had to mobilise and strengthen their presence on the planet. On the other hand, Fox knew that Falco had bad blood with his old gang members; 'Free-as-a-Bird' was a small gang of aspiring hot rodders, illegal freelance racers from back during the Academy days. Falco first formed the gang when he was just thirteen, and soon he amassed a small cabal of fellow troublemakers from the Academy, a couple a little younger than him, a couple a few years his senior. They shared a single goal: to one day enter one of the Lylat system's Zero-G Racing Series. Corneria City had a racing scene, but as Academy students were made mostly up of young teenagers, Free-as-a-Bird was too young to register. By the time they were approaching the age limit, something changed the gang, and Falco officially sacked Free-as-a-Bird to join Star Fox two years ago, leaving his former gang-mates to pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. They had done so, jumping off Corneria and joining the Zero-G Racing Series on Macbeth as "the Hellfire Cats", a rebel band of hoodlums. They held no love for Andross, but they weren't exactly keen on working for Corneria either. If they had chosen to operate out of Sargasso instead of Macbeth and target Cornerian ships, the Hellfire Cats would likely be classified as pirates as opposed to would-be gangsters. Time may have healed some wounds among the Cats, but Fox knew them through Falco, who certainly had a chip on his shoulder about _that_ time in his childhood; Fox feared that some old wounds would rise to the surface if the Hellfire Cats discovered just why Falco ditched them.

Fox resigned himself to the idea that he had no other options and with a heavy sigh, he mumbled, "Alright, let's see if Katt and her guys know anything about Andross' movements."

Peppy stood from the table and walked round to Fox's side, patted the young man on the shoulder, and boldly boomed, "You know it makes sense, son. Come on now, we'll be the liaisons." He then pulled on his duster collar, raising it to his mouth and declared, "Ya there, Slippy?"

There was a brief silence before the faint noise of Slippy's voice came in over a hidden speaker. _"Slippy here. What's up, Peppy?"_

"Ya think that old shuttle o' yers still works?"

 _"The Dragonfly? Sure it'll work, but it needs fuel."_

"Well, do ya mind fillin' her up? Fox and I are takin' her down to Macbeth to follow up on a lead I've found."

 _"Sure thing! Come by Hangar Two in… five minutes!"_

"The Dragonfly? Did Slippy name his shuttle after that old martial arts sim he used to play back at the Academy?" Fox giggled, looking a little fresher than he did when the two arrived in the canteen.

Peppy looked back to Fox with strange look on his face. "Yes?" Peppy clearly had no idea what Fox was talking about.

Fox shook his head, a cheerful grin on his face. "Never mind, Peppy. Let's just head over to Hangar Two."

The two walked across the canteen, placing their mugs gently into the basin in the kitchenette before crossing into the elevator. Peppy selected the hangar floors, and the elevator soon shot off. Again, the trip was quick and over before the two realised; they stepped out and traversed the long corridor towards the hangars; Hangar One (where the Arwings hung from their brackets) was passed by first. Fox and Peppy looked out into the hangar from a gangway; the bay was mostly silent, aside from Falco, who was working on his Arwing again. The bird could never leave his fighter alone for long; perhaps it eased his boredom, Peppy and Fox thought. Falco did have a reputation for getting bored ridiculously quickly.

The vulpine and rabbit crossed the gangway without Falco looking up, allowing to two to slip by unnoticed and enter another corridor before another gangway opened up to reveal the second hangar bay. Sat down on the deck, a small shuttle adorned in the blue and white colours of the Star Fox Arwings: Slippy's Dragonfly. Designed with six landing legs, collapsing bug-like wings and a frontal domed cockpit, the Dragonfly very much resembled the flying insect it was named for.

Fox and Peppy began to descend down a gangway leading to the deck of the hangar. As the two approached, they could see Slippy waddling around as he cleaned the shuttle; it had been sat down in the cargo hold for a few years, and Slippy wanted to make sure one of his baby projects was ready to launch. The armour was buffed to a shine, the engines primed and functional, and the fuel topped up. Unlike the Arwings -which used hydrogen/oxygen gas fuel cells- the Dragonfly shuttle used the weaker liquid mixed fuel cells, not unlike commercial spacecraft across the Lylat system. The gas fuel cells were lighter than the liquid cells, contained more hydrogen and oxygen to burn, and could power ships for longer and faster runs before refuelling.

"How's yer shuttle, Slip? Ready to fly?" Peppy boomed as he approached the rear left side, Fox following behind him.

Slippy ejected the fuel pump and rested the nozzle on the fuel trolley. The stout frog lifted his cap, wiped his head clean of sweat, and huffed, "Dragonfly's primed and ready to buzz around anywhere you wanna go! Treat her nicely, guys. She's been sleeping for a long time."

"Not to worry, Slippy. We'll keep her safe." Fox and Peppy then boarded the shuttle through a collapsed boarding ramp at the rear centre. The ship was rather compact, smaller than most shuttles. Likely Slippy's design contributed to its small size and cramped interior. Peppy's ears just barely avoided brushing against the ceiling only to clip against the door arches, whilst Fox had to slouch a little. Slippy, who had silently boarded, had no problem with ducking, strolled through the shuttle like he was walking down a promenade.

"I know she's not exactly built for, um… taller people, b-but the Dragonfly flies just as smoothly as any other shuttle you'll find throughout the Lylat system!" Slippy exclaimed, his voice and tone jumping between anxious nerves and proud admiration.

Fox slipped into the pilot's seat and got a feel for the controls. Whilst the Arwing used a double joystick control system, the Dragonfly strangely used a steering wheel, similar to the ones used in hover-cars or other land vehicles. Peppy sat next to his young leader in the co-pilot seat, looking out through the cockpit window. The amber-tinted glass was half-silvered, allowing the occupants to see out as clear as day, but obscuring vision from the outside looking in.

"You've, uh… outdone yourself with this one, Slippy." Fox murmured. Slippy playfully slapped his friend on the shoulder and giggled, clearly proud of his work.

"D'ya mind keepin' an eye on Falco for us, Slippy? Fox and I are gonna be gone a couple hours, is all." Peppy queried, turning in the chair to half-face the frog whose tiny stature blocked the door arch.

"Y-Yeah, sure. No problem!" Slippy then quickly waddled back through the Dragonfly, disappeared down the boarding ramp and got clear of the shuttle, radioing in to give Fox the go-ahead.

Fox then raised the boarding ramp, ignited the engines and unleashed the wings, which opened upwards before stretching out flat, spanning across a four-metre wingspan. The engines howled and roared throughout the hangar as the Dragonfly slowly lifted off the deck. At the right height, Fox hit the forward thrust hard, and the shuttle blasted out of the hangar through the docking shield and soon tore through the void of space. Even as a shuttle using standard fuel sources, the Dragonfly was still pretty fast, likely a result of its small size and assumed lighter plating when compared to standard commercial shuttles.

The Dragonfly charged back on itself, looping around casually, before diving down below the _Great Fox_ and towards Macbeth, a dusty brown-coloured planet, and the "Miner's Paradise" of the Lylat system. Hot flames engulfed the Dragonfly as Fox and Peppy passed through the planet's ozone. The shuttle rumbled and chugged through the thick density of the re-entry, travelling from space to air, before the fires slowly fizzled out and the view of Macbeth shone through. A dirty industrial world, Macbeth's skies were thick with heavy dark clouds of smoke and ash, its cities an entangled web of streets and skyscrapers. And across the entire planet ran a series of railway tracks, delivering cargo supplies to and from the mega-corporate factories that marked the planet.

Peppy directed Fox down to 'Macbeth Mega City No. IV', known to the local Macbethians as Glamis. This was where Peppy said the Hellfire Cats make their hideout, as well as their town billing during their races. If Star Fox was going to find the gang, they would find them here. Glamis was a mess of concrete and metal infrastructure; roads, streets and buildings from the tallest skyscrapers to the dingiest of nightclubs weaved and fused together to make the mega-metropolis a home for the greedy or rebellious. The greedy were often on the payroll of the corrupt Cornerian officials, but in recent years they now served Andross, likely out of further greed as; if Andross were to conquer the Lylat system, he 'promised' all who served him a large pool of cash to do with as they pleased. And for the rebellious, they stood in the way of all governments, Cornerian or otherwise. The Hellfire Cats were no exception; they had fled from Corneria to escape the bombastic democracy in place with the Cornerian Senate, but held no love for Andross' imperialist views for rule, and stood against him and the Venomian Army too.

Getting clearance to land in Glamis' spaceport was rather tense; the radio communications representative was hostile to the sight of Star Fox (likely aware of their current affiliation and mission), but nonetheless gave the Dragonfly access to the spaceport after a short while of arguing back and forth about the political struggles of the war. Fox landed the Dragonfly at the port's Bay-16, gently lowering down into the domed spaceport, with the rear-most legs of Slippy's shuttle landing first before the middle-most legs and finally the front-most. With the shuttle now anchored, Fox powered down the engines and withdrew the wings, which folded back up to rest on the dorsal side of the Dragonfly. Fox and Peppy stood from their seats and headed out, dropping the boarding ramp and crossing Bay-16 towards the registration office.

The registrar was a slime of a man; a filthy grime-ridden boar who stunk of cheap tobacco and aftershave, a strong beer smell erupted from his breath and his tank top stained with all kinds of muck. And he was fat; _very_ fat. So fat that it looked like the office could barely contain him; the Star Fox pilots were amazed his chair hadn't broke under his enormous girth and its accompanying weight. To make matters worse, even as the two approached to speaking distance, the fat slob was half-asleep with a still lit cigar hanging from his mouth, which dangled precariously close to some spilt beer on his desk.

Peppy took the lead, slamming his hand against the office window to wake the registrar. The man snorted and grumbled to the sudden startling, his cigar thankfully dropping down to the floor out of harm's way. He continued to grunt and snort as he readjusted himself (or at least tried to) before attempting to speak with Star Fox.

After about five minutes of the registrar shuffling around uncomfortably, he was finally relaxed enough to speak. "What the hell do you pan'thies want, eh? I was enjoyin' my'thelf there." His voice was a guttural snarl, his speech a little slurred and lisped behind his twin tusks.

Again, Peppy took the lead. "Ya think we could register our ship across the ways there?" he pointed over his shoulder to the Dragonfly, even stepping away so that the boar could see the ship more clearly. Whilst the boar took the identification information from the old rabbit, Peppy dug his hand into his duster pocket again, retrieving a small handful of things. "On the matter of ma business here, I'm lookin' for the Hellfire Cats. Any idea where they make their hangout?" he placed the card through a dish below the window, so the registrar could get a better look.

The boar took the card and lazily glared at it. He snorted, "I might know where they hide… But it'll co'tht ya, old man."

"No worries." Peppy then slipped two chits displaying '300', with a small inscription below it reading 'Cornerian dollars', into the dish.

The boar grabbed them like a starved child would grab at food, before dropping them back in the dish and insisting "Not enough" with a toothy grin, even displaying a few empty gaps in his mouth. Peppy dropped another chit, this time reading '400'. The registrar then took the full amount, buried the chits in a drawer under his desk and leant forward. With a surprising hushed whisper, he muttered, "You'll find the Hellfire Cath's in Black'thtar, one of the party club'ths downtown. Can't mi'th it."

"Thank ya kindly. Come on, Fox, let's get movin'." The two then passed by the office and soon found themselves in the streets of Glamis.

The dark skies cloaked the city from above, showering the streets in darkness. The two mercenaries could barely see in the darkness, but found themselves moving about the city streets like they knew the back of their own hands. They only got lost due to the unfamiliarity of the city rather than the dark corners, and they had found what they were looking for in just an hour's search: the nightclub known as 'Blackstar', or "Black'thtar" as the registrar enunciated it. The neon lighting of the sign flashed with a bright purple and reddish glow, lighting up the streets as it flickered in and out. Fox and Peppy stood in line, soon being absorbed into the mass of people waiting to get inside. With each step the two made, the techno-dance music inside seemingly getting louder and louder. As the minutes soon turned into an hour's wait, some of the other waiting people became agitated, shouting at the bouncers to speed things along or threatening others in the line with violence if they didn't give up their spot. Peppy whispered to Fox to "keep the heroics under lock", as being a pillar of justice on Macbeth would get the mercenaries nowhere.

The two were waiting for almost two long hours before they reached the entrance to Blackstar. As the bouncers cleared them in for a small fee of '100' dollars, Peppy whispered to Fox, "You reckon ya could spot Katt and her boys once we get in there? Ma memory isn't as clear as it used be…" Fox confirmed that he could point out Katt when he saw her. The two then waltzed passed the bouncers into the booming nightclub, as thumping music blasted from every angle and room, with groups of people either jiving away on the dancefloor, or hidden away in the dark corners, smoking and drinking and laughing the night away. Neon lights strobed and flashed in every colour of the rainbow, blinding anyone who stared a little too long into the light. Smoke screens flooded the floor, blurring people's feet as they continued to dance like it was their last.

Fox scanned the main floor for their targets to no avail. He then moved onto the upper floor, a quieter place, to observe the dancefloor and people-watch. That's when he saw her: Katarina 'Katt' Monroe, former Free-as-a-Bird gang member turned leader of the Hellfire Cats. Even with the chaos of Blackstar's techno beats, Fox could see her as clear as day; gone was the young 'cutie-pie' image of the young feline Katt, replaced by the young striking woman. She sat at a handrail booth, her feet kicked up on the table, her legs crossed left over right. Her pink fur with white highlights were unfazed by the technicoloured rainbow of strobe lights that bounced around the entire club. Her dark blue eyes flashed in the strobes, often glimmering like violet stars. She wore a yellow cropped vest under a jet-black biker's vest, blue jumpsuit bottoms held up with a black leather holster and black biker boots with a crimson blood-red trim. Twin studded gloves covered her hands as she twirled a blaster around her right index finger.

Fox nudged Peppy in the arm and pointed Katt out to him. "That's her, up there."

Peppy struggled to hear his young friend, but quickly managed to follow his gaze. "Let's go introduce ourselves then, shall we?"

The two then set off for the stairs to the upper floor. They had to weave and dart through the mass of patrons on the dancefloor, who threw themselves all over the place, caring not for getting bumped into or shoved aside by other patrons. Worming through like worms in the dirt, Fox and Peppy promptly found themselves to the stairs, quickly charging up and approaching the booth where Katt was sat. The music had seemingly died, as the thumping tunes from below were drowned out to a faint humming upstairs.

Before Fox and Peppy could get close, however, a towering figure stopped them. "You two's got's business with Katt, ay?" The mountain freak before them- standing at least seven feet tall- was a black-scaled crocodile, dressed in a black jacket bearing a skull 'n' crossbones emblem over the heart, with camouflage jumpsuit bottoms and brown boots. His hulking torso was barely contained with a red muscle shirt, decorated with two guitars marked like a cross with bolts of lightning launching off them in the background. Upon his head lay a pair of solid-visor flight goggles and an olive-coloured helmet. His attire was covered in cuts and scuffs; from the crocodile's massive frame or the regular street fights on Macbeth was unclear, but one thing was for certain: this reptile was one tough predator.

Fox recognised this towering brute after a short while. With a laid-back demeanour, he crossed his arms and chuckled, "Croc Bridger. Wouldn't have pegged you the serious type."

The crocodile looked down at Fox. Lifting his dark goggles, he glared at Fox with minted eyes and a predatory stare. The young vulpine almost thought this 'Croc Bridger' was going to eat him whole. Then, the freak's vibe did a one-eighty; a tall imposing and terrifying presence was dropped for a friendly- if toothy- grin, a loosened stance and the heart-warming laughter, "Fox McCloud! Been a long time, Foxy. Haven't seen ya since the Academy." He looked over to Peppy. "This who I think it is?"

"Peppy Hare, former commander in the Cornerian Army, turned mercenary-for-hire and pilot of the Star Fox Team. A pleasure." The old rabbit stuck out a warm hand.

Croc looked back to Katt, who nodded silently. "Noice ta meet cha." He shook hands with Peppy and showed the two Star Fox pilots to Katt's table. Fox and Peppy slipped over to the rail across from Katt, whilst Croc stood over the table.

Katt holstered her blaster and giggled, "Thanks, Crocky boy. You wouldn't mind going back on lookout, would you?"

Croc smiled, "No worries, Katt. You need a hand, just shout. I won't be too far…" he then wandered back into the scenery. For such an imposing and looming figure, Croc could always somehow disappear into the crowds.

Katt giggled again as she turned her attention on the mercenaries. Her feline stare focused on Fox. She bore a coy smile as she cooed, "Long time no see, Foxy. How's your old pal Falco doin'?"

Fox knew he shouldn't really show a sign of weakness or insecurity, and he knew that Katt would have asked such a question, yet he couldn't help but trip over himself when Katt mentioned Falco. Katt wasn't just one of Falco's old gang mates; she had a serious crush on him. Something Falco ignored for the most part, either preferring to view Katt as a platonic friend or like a little sister. More often than Falco liked, however, that relationship often tipped into the platonic end of the pool, with Katt constantly pushed for something… more.

Deciding- at risk- to ignore Katt's request, Fox retorted, "Look, as much as I'd like to catch up, I'm… here on business."

"Work over pleasure? Okay then…" Katt still bore a coy smile despite Fox ignoring the question about Falco. She leant forward- showing off her 'assets'- and purred in a sultry voice, "What can I help you with? Anything special?"

 _Oh come on, Katt. You're a year younger than me, for god's sake!_ Fox thought to himself. The 'femme fatale' persona was unsettling already, even more so coming from Katt Monroe. Nonetheless, Fox couldn't back out now, so he cleared his throat and continued, "We're here to take out the supplies factory for the Venomian Army. Peppy here says you and your…" he paused to look around. Just Katt. (And Croc, somewhere in the dark corners of the Blackstar lounge.) "… team may have a lead for us."

"Looks like you boys have done your homework. It's no secret that the gangs of Macbeth hate Andross and his army. And I've been planning something special for their main transport crew." Katt dug into her jumpsuit bottoms and splashed a photograph on the table. It displayed a long freight train that was stationed at the cargo-yards in Glamis. "It's called the _Forever Train_. The weapons manufacturers under Andross built that thing to run for as long as Andross rules the Lylat system… **Forever**. But, I plan to end that; there's some rare materials to be loaded on that freighter and moved out tomorrow, headed straight for Andross' weapons factory in the South Pole area of Macbeth. Fuel stocks, too. My plan is raid the train whilst it's en route to the Venomian factory. Whilst my guys are picking the train clean, explosives will be planted on the cab, and the train itself will need to be heading full speed towards the stockpiles. Once the train reaches the break bumper, _**BOOM!**_ Ploughs straight through, and the whole place goes sky-high." Katt sat back with a large grin, her feline eyes darting between Fox and Peppy.

Fox looked to Peppy and the old rabbit nodded with a subtle motion. The two asked for a moment to think things over, stood from the table and vanished out into a smoking shelter. The pair didn't retrieve any cigarettes from their jackets (not having brought any), and both turned down the chance from other patrons. As the others laughed and puffed over personal gossip, Fox and Peppy sat alone in a quiet corner.

"What do you think, Peppy?"

"Do you think we can trust her? She's not exactly got a clean record no more."

"What? Peppy, you were the one who thought contacting her was a good idea."

"I won't deny that, but it ain't ma decision whether we ultimately go through with this. You're lead pilot, Fox. It's yer decision…"

"I don't know… Slippy probably wouldn't mind, but I think Falco would be pissed."

"I'll follow you every step of the way, no matter what yer say is. It's in yer hands now, son."

"Falco won't take it well… but it's a risk we've gotta take. I mean, it's not like we've got any other leads, and Katt's got a fairly solid plan for taking out Andross' supply run… Alright. Let's do it."

"Then let's go tell Katt our move…"

The pair stood up and returned to the club, finding their way back to Katt's table, where she now sat with another cat. A tom, with blue fur and white highlights, a tuft of golden between his ears. He wore a green jumpsuit with the Hellfire Cat emblem across the chest, and a pair of black boots with red shinplates covering them. The two cats were conversing rather aggressively; the tom accusing Katt of "flirting", Katt shooting back with "jealousy". These snippets of the conversation painted the picture for Fox clearly; Katt had a boyfriend. His name? Felix Kool. Felix always had a crush on Katt, and it seemed this new chapter in her life had allowed him to go through with his feelings. Unfortunately, it was clear to Fox that Katt still held a candle for Falco. Something which troubled the blue tom.

"Look, you flirt with just about any guy that so much as walks passed you, and… sometimes, I-I think you **mean** it. Like you want to run off with them." Felix whispered to Katt, a sudden soft plea to his girlfriend.

Katt looped her arms around his neck, stared deeply into his blue eyes and purred, "It's just a part of the charm, babe. Helps butter up the mark, if he thinks he can go places with a pretty girl like me." She blinked her eyes in a mad flash.

Felix took her arms from his shoulders and brought them down between the pair. "Just… I dunno… Ease up for a little while? It really worries me…" Katt gave Felix a light peck on the cheek and whispered some soothing words in his ear. He stood- a relieved look on his face- and walked away.

Fox and Peppy then approached. Katt stood to greet them, pressing her hands on her hips and bowing her sides out to the left, half-staring over her shoulder with those piercing blue eyes.

"Well then, boys. What do you say? Want my info?"

 _Back aboard the Great Fox, three hours later…_

The whole Star Fox Team- even ROB- was in the canteen when Fox informed them of their lead on Macbeth, with Peppy chiming in to fill in the details that slipped through the cracks. Slippy was pleased to hear about Katt and the other Free-as-a-Bird members; like Fox, the young frog had known them during his days at the Academy and even struck up an odd friendship with Croc Bridger, the gang's resident tech-geek. Slippy was always impressed and amazed by Croc's designs, his pure brawn not outpacing his brain. ROB was otherwise unfazed by the announcement; he would be staying on the _Great Fox_ as usual, feeding the team information on how much time they had during the mission, their next checkpoints and so on. Unfortunately, as Fox worried over, there was an elephant in the room, one that needed addressing… and its name was Falco Lombardi.

The ace pilot was _**not**_ happy that Fox had accepted help from his old gang. "Geez, what's the matta with you, Fox!? Shackin' up with my old crew and bringin' 'em in on this! What were ya thinkin', man!?" the angry bird squawked and shrieked as he took the information in, his silence from the debrief erupting into violent outburst. He had even stormed into Fox's face to shout and berate him.

Peppy stepped forward and gently pushed Falco back. "First things first, _**I**_ was the one who went lookin' into Katt and the others. If you wanna get on up in someone's face, boy, then try it with me. Second, she was willing to help us out near on the spot. Besides, if we sniffed around too long, we'd have missed a golden opportunity to strike out at Andross' hold on Macbeth. And lastly, we ain't a bunch a' pansies who step down from a job cos the goin' gets rough. We're mercenaries, soldiers-of-fortune, guns for hire. And part o' that is doin' some things that not every man could do… And right now, one of those things is teamin' up with the Hellfire Cats. If you can't deal with that, then you can just sit out right here and now."

Falco growled in frustration, brushing a hand over his head, slicking the feathers back. He huffed and sighed; something else about his past was about to come out. He turned his back to his comrades and finally grumbled, "It's not that I don't wanna patch things up with Katt and the others, or that I ran away just cos Fox gave me a sweet offer…" He paused, his hands on his hips and his head facing down. Falco shook his head and turned back, "A couple months before Fox asked me for help, we hit a rough time… one of my guys went missing. And we never really found out why."

Fox's heart then sank. He slapped a hand to his head and exclaimed, "Yeah, I can't believe I forgot… Chip had just disappeared, hadn't he? I should have known when I didn't see his name on that dossier."

Peppy chimed in again. "I'm not sure I'm followin'-"

"Chip was one of the guys I ran with back in Free-as-a-Bird. He had a rough time in those days… Hell, we ALL had a rough time in those days, but Chip… he needed a lot of lookin' out for. And then, just right outta the blue, he drops off the map… a-and we never heard from him again." The uncertainty in Falco's voice really shined through how much this all really meant to him; it was something that made him drop his cool exterior to show what lay underneath.

Indeed, Chip Mouser was one of the 'founding members' of Falco's gang, alongside Falco (obviously) and Katt, with Croc, Felix, Johnny and Miyu following shortly thereafter. A small and nervous creature, Chip was often the troublemaking member at the Academy and, as Falco mentioned, often needed checking on to make sure he wasn't stepping out of line too far. It was no surprise, as Chip really did have a much rougher life than his fellow gang members; they had all lost family by the time they banded together, but Chip was the only one who was a full-blown orphan, both his parents having died during an 'incident' a few years prior to Free-as-a-Bird forming.

"Look… I'll try and make it up to Katt and the guys, okay? Just… let me do it my way."

"Sure thing." Fox then grinned as he remembered Katt asking about the bird. "Ya know, Katt's still got a thing for ya, Falco."

Falco's anger rose up again. He let out a strong expletive, stormed out into the corridor, his arms flailing and flying over his head as he shouted, "Oh for god's sake, when will that girl ever learn!? I don't like her! Never have done, never will!" As he left, Peppy and Fox grinned at each other with a telling in their eyes. The two laughed out loud as Falco reached the elevator headed for the barracks. The bird sighed as he stood alone in the elevator. Despite his protests that he felt nothing for Katt like that, it still frustrated him that she still continued to fawn over him. Even when the two first met as 'kids', Katt praised the ground that Falco walked upon and looked up to him as an idol. And, even in those days, Falco was far from a fan of Katt's overzealous affection for him.

"Goddamn it, Katt…"

 _The next day, outside Macbeth Mega City No. IV…_

In the early hours of the next morning before the Forever Train was due to leave the cargo-yards of Glamis, Star Fox and the Hellfire Cats met up on the outskirts of the mega-metropolis. The mercenaries and gangsters had grouped together to go over the operation one last time, with Peppy putting through a communications call to General Pepper. The two groups were huddled behind four starfighters and Star Fox's Landmaster tank, watching over the land where the railways ran across the deserts of Macbeth.

Falco wasn't too pleased about the official debrief. "Do we really have to go through this again? We already know what we're doin'." Before any justification could be voiced, the holographic radio broadcast brought up an image of the General.

 _"General Pepper here! What's your status, Star Fox?"_ there was a little static that growled through the transmission, but Pepper's speech was otherwise unaffected.

Fox stepped forward. "Fox McCloud here, General. We've partnered up with the Hellfire Cats gang to execute a sabotage mission against Andross' exclusive weapons and materials transporter, the Forever Train. Our flight team- consisting of Falco, Peppy, and three Hellfire Cats- will take to the skies to hold off any aircraft escort the transporter receives. Meanwhile, our demolition team- Slippy and the remaining two gangsters- will board the train, working through the carriages to take stock and detach the cars from the cab. Once they've detached every car, they will then plant explosives on the train cab and jump to safety. I will be covering them using the Landmaster, and provide them the means to board the train. We have approximately six hours until the train is due to arrive at the Venomian supply factory. If all goes according to plan, the train should run straight through the base, failing to stop, with the explosives set to detonate on derailment when the train crashes."

 _"A great plan, Fox! I wish that we could send in backup, but you're into enemy territory on Macbeth, and our forces are still needed around the Cornerian worlds. Good luck to you, boys! Pepper out!"_

The General's hologram disappeared just as Falco stormed over to Fox, Peppy and Felix. Something troubled him. "Yo, Felix." He snatched the blue feline by his collar and yanked him to his feet, the bird pressing his beak into the cat's black nose. "Where the hell's Katt? She should be here by now, right?"

Felix pushed Falco back, forcing him to let go. The tom straightened his clothes before hissing, "I sent Katt on ahead. Told her we'd start the raid out on the plains."

"What!? Are you stupid or sommin'?! We agreed the meet-up point was on the outskirts of the city, you dumbass! Why would ya send her out so far on her own!?"

Peppy shushed at Falco. "Keep yer damned voice down, son!" He snapped in a hushed whisper. "If the shipyard workers hear us, then we can kiss this thang goodnight and goodbye!" He paused as he shifted his gaze from Falco to Felix. "Now, I'm sure the tommy here can explain why he's done what he did."

Felix thought about his response for a quick second, but managed to point out the method to the madness. "There's eight mega cities on Macbeth, each one with a transmitter range which interlock with each other and stretch over almost the entire planet. We may have six hours until the train reaches its supply drop, but at least four and a half of those hours are within radio range. We need to wait until it drops out of that range and into the dead zone. From there, we can board the train, detach the cars and rig the thing to blow on impact with the supply base."

"And that'll leave us with about an hour and a half to get things done. Damn, it's gonna be close." Fox mumbled, rubbing one of his ears in frustration. This mission suddenly just got a little more difficult.

At that moment, the Forever Train began to pull out of the yard, grinding and clattering on the rails as it headed out into the vast desert. Fox and Peppy rallied the others to duck down out of sight. As they all watched the transporter pull away, Fox traced its movements with a rangefinder, tracking the distance from their location and the ultimate distance when it would be both out of vision and out of radio range from Glamis. As Fox watched on, the flight team began to rush to their fighters. Felix was taking off in his customised Invader/II fighter, modified with a Hellfire Cat paint job, tweaked G-Diffusers (to allow for a stronger boost) and twin Gatling cannons. His fellow gangster was a girl known as Miyu Lynx. Miyu and her older brother Johnny were always inseparable, even in the days of Free-as-a-Bird. Where one went, the other was sure to follow. Despite this, they often bickered and argued, like most siblings; Miyu was outgoing and always courageous, whilst Johnny was laid-back and always relaxed. Their conflicting personalities often put them at odds, but the two always reconciled their differences and worked well together. Miyu was initially unsure about leaving her brother behind in the demolition team, but Johnny calmed her nerve and encouraged her to go on with the flight team. Like Felix, Miyu flew a Hellfire Cat-painted Invader/II starfighter, modified with three Needler cannons and tougher armour.

Falco and Peppy took to the skies in their personal Arwing fighters. Meanwhile, the demolition squad stuck with Fox; Star Fox's own Slippy Toad would be boarding the train alongside Hellfire Cats Croc Bridger and Johnny Lynx, hitching a ride on the Landmaster with Fox, who would tail the train out into the open and keep any land or air-based escort off their backs. One thing that Katt mentioned to him, however, was a secret weapon still in production that was hidden from the Macbethian public; a new flying assault craft that Andross himself had put into production. While still in a developmental stage, its combat functions were ready, and rumours around Glamis was that one lucky supply chief would be charged with the first field testing of the weapon. Fox was cautious as he ploughed through the dust of the Macbethian deserts, his Landmaster sitting just out of range from the Forever Train.

After rolling out into the Macbethian deserts for just over four hours, Felix sent in the go-ahead to attack. "Alright, Star Fox. Let's do this!"

From the Landmaster, Fox slowly rode close behind the train, readying his tag-alongs to jump. The first man was Croc, who hissed and flew through the air like a bullet despite his cumbersome bulk. He slammed down hard onto the back axel of the train car, but grabbed a strong hold before hoisting himself up and onto his feet. Johnny was next to jump over; he was much more graceful than Croc, landing on the platform much more cleanly than his comrade. Even when he lost his footing, the chilled lynx looked calm and collected, and Croc stopped him from actually falling off.

"Whoa…" Johnny mumbled coolly. "Croc dude, you totally saved me, man…"

"Focus, Johnny! If you get too chilled-out, ya might well pass out, ya rippa!" Croc playfully snapped at his comrade.

"Focus you guys. Slippy's not as… active as you two." Fox seemingly whispered over the communicator.

"Right, right- No problem, Foxy. Alright, Slippy: make ya jump! I'll catch ya, don't worry." Croc reassured Slippy, who still clung to the Landmaster rather timidly.

"Oh crud…" Slippy moaned as sweat dripped down his face. "Here I go…" He sized up his jump, and leapt through the air… landing against the door of the car, _behind_ Croc and Johnny.

"Whoa… you jump good, Slip dude." Johnny mumbled.

"Crikey! Gave me a fright there, Slip!" Croc blurted out.

Fox wished the demolitionists luck and rolled away from the train, returning to following it at a steady pace. Felix called in and reported that the time had come: the Forever Train had slipped into the dead zone, where it could no longer contact any of the mega cities. Now was the time to strike, and the aerial support team swooped in, only to be met with enemy fighters.

"Well, well, well!" A mysterious voice chuckled over the communicator. "Here come the little hyenas now!"

"Huh!?" Falco grunted in shock.

"Looking to steal Lord Andross' cargo, are ya Hellfire Cats? Well tough luck, ya varmints! I've known you've been comin' since Glamis! Step on the gas!" the voice dictated in a thunderous accent.

"Crap! Looks like Andross' boys knew we were coming!" Felix exclaimed in frustration.

"Flight team, pull out and engage those fighters!" Peppy took charge with a commanding tone. "Fox, you're gonna have to cover our boys on the train until we can get back in!"

"No problem, Peppy. Fly safe, guys." The flight team then split off from the train and vanished beyond the clouds, leading the main Venomian defence team off with them.

Fox watched the back car of the train again; Croc, Johnny and Slippy had now managed to open the rear escape door and sneaked inside the car. Slippy stayed on the radio, whilst Croc and Johnny ransacked the car for the cargo. As the train continued on through the plains, stray fighters began to hound the Landmaster tank from afar, forcing Fox to drop back in order to target them with the Landmaster's main cannon. He sprayed a volley of laser bolts into the skies, which strafed the clouds and tagged a number of the stray fighters, yet not downing them. Luckily, Falco was able to swoop in and pick them off, cutting through their ships like a hot knife through butter.

"Thanks for the assist, Falco." Fox chimed in over the communicator.

As ever, Falco wasn't known for his humility. "Just hurry up and get back after that train!"

Fox boosted forward, catching up to the train and even rolling ahead of the rear car. Slippy announced over the radio that the rear car had been fully searched; three hundred tonnes-worth of starship fuel, a good find. Although, this announcement caused some thoughts of doubts and suspicions among Star Fox: even that kind of payload could set most up for life, but the Hellfire Cats wanted to sack the entire train, which consisted of another nine cars, four open decks and the cab. Just what would the Hellfire Cats _do_ with all of it?

As Fox rolled alongside, however, he was lost in thought as the head engineer barked out, "Here ya go!" and suddenly, eight boulders almost twice the size of the Landmaster tipped off the next car, blocking the route forward. Luckily, Fox was just quick enough to hit his boosters, jumping the tank straight over the boulders and land safely on the other side.

"Watchtowers up ahead! Keep yer eyes open, Fox!" Peppy exclaimed over the communicator as he swung down low over the train, followed by a Venomian fighter which crashed into an empty deck.

Just as Peppy warned, Fox soon spotted a range of watchtowers positioned around the tracks, each armed with a heavy turret which assault the skies, trying to tag the Arwings darting about above. Rolling into firing range, Fox sprayed each watchtower with a volley of laser bolts, quickly decimating one. However, this caught the attention of the next tower, which then diverted its firing against the Landmaster. Again with his quick thinking, Fox charged straight towards the tower, crashing straight into the stem of the tower. While a risky gambit, the Landmaster's tough armour and sleek design allowed it to smash right through the tower, knocking it down and taking out the turret atop it too.

"These fools aren't taking me seriously!" The engineer cried, realising that Fox was taking more interest in destroying the defences than engaging the train. "Well, let's see how they like ole' Cap'in Benjamin when he calls this in! Step on the gas, boys!" The train slowly began to pick up speed, pulling ahead quicker than the Landmaster could keep up.

"Crap!" Fox growled, turning his attention to the radio. "Flight team, the train's speeding ahead, I won't be able to catch up!"

"Might not do ya much good, but try boosting, Fox. In the meantime, I'll try and slow it down." Peppy chattered, swinging down close to the train and bolting passed the cab.

By now, Croc, Johnny and Slippy were finishing up with their search in the rear cart and beginning to move on to the empty deck where the boulders had sat. The jump from the rear car to the deck was relatively easy, aside from Johnny stumbling again; luckily, Croc was there to help stabilise the chilled-out lynx. And, as with boarding the car, Slippy out-shined his Hellfire Cat teammates despite being scared out of his skin, hopping right over them and landing safely on the deck, the wind barely managing to put him off.

As they ventured up the deck to the next car (a series of three), however, they were in for a nasty surprise when the train engineer Benjamin cried out, "We got ourselves some stowaways! Damned crooks, detach the rear vehicles!"

Suddenly, the rear car ejected from the link behind the demolition team, startling all of them as they gazed at the car falling behind like a deer in the headlights; Benjamin was trying to cut them off from the rest of the train. It was a mad dash towards the next car; Croc had to carry Johnny (who seemingly refused to run) whilst Slippy was practically jumping up the length of the deck before splatting himself against the next car, leaping over ten feet towards the door. Just as Croc jumped to the next car, the deck detached from the link and slowly came to a halt as the Forever Train continued on with the Landmaster still in pursuit.

Luckily, Benjamin's discovery of the demolition team along with Peppy's attempt to slow the train down had yielded a result; the train crew became distracted with filling out the captain's orders that they had lost some speed, allowing the Landmaster to slowly catch up with what was now the rear cart, or tenth vehicle overall minus the cab at the front. Slippy, Croc and Johnny slipped into the next cab and began to strip away at the stocks. As they went about their raid, however, Fox eyed a group of crewmen heading down to the cart.

"Watch out, demo team! You're gonna have company!"

 _"Righto, Foxy. We'll be waitin' for 'em!"_ Croc boomed over the radio, seemingly unfazed by the imminent arrival of Venomian forces. Within just a few minutes, some seven Venomian soldiers busted into the cart… and were instantly tossed back out, flying from the train and tearing up against the rocks and dust of the desert.

 _"Hey, Croc… you finished, dude? We still got the rest of the cart to get through."_ Johnny sighed in his usual chilled groove.

"Yo, look out Fox! Comin' in from above!" Falco snapped as he swung overhead, tagging two or three fighters that strafed the Landmaster. Fox corrected his aim and blasted the fighters into dust with an explosion of fire and plasma.

"Just shoot the damn hooligans!" Peppy barked out, as the flight team soon became swarmed by Venomian fighters, at least four to their one.

"Damn it! We're outnumbered!" Felix hissed, sweat rolling down his face as he sneered at the situation. This job was meant to catch the train crew off-guard, but something put the Venomians ahead of the ambush team.

"Hehehe…." Benjamin chuckled from the Forever Train. "Looks like ya straight outta luck this time, Hellfire Cats! Step on the gas, boys! We'll just about outrun 'em now!"

Even Fox was starting to become overwhelmed, as a squad of five fighters hounded him, peppering the Landmaster with serious firepower, enough to almost cut through the tank's armour. Suddenly, one bolt cut right through the tracks, which blew out and slowed Fox down to a crawl. Now, he was in serious danger. He may have been sat in an almost impenetrable box, but now he was travelling at a snail's pace… and a very easy target for the squad overhead. Fox wrestled with the controls just to keep the Landmaster going in a straight line, the damaged tank tracks violently pulling him to the left. As all five fighters swooped in at once, time seemed to stand still for Fox McCloud. He could **not** give up now, now that he was so close to defeating Andross and avenging his father. And yet, the young vulpine knew that it was no use; the starfighters coming in were too much even the Landmaster to stand against. His mission… was over…

 _ **BOOM!**_

As he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable, a brilliant flash of fire erupted above the Landmaster. In a fit of surprise, Fox gazed to the stars as a red Invader/II starfighter zoomed through the fiery cloud, quickly picking up off the overwhelming Venomian forces, each in a blast of burning metal. Fox and the flight team were rather dumbfounded as to the sudden shift in the battle. Until the mysterious fighter revealed themselves.

"Getting started without me? Boys, I'm crushed!" Katt's seductive voice chided over the radio.

"Katt!?" Falco angrily snapped. "Where the hell have you been!?"

"Is that any way to talk to a lady, Falco? Especially little old me?" she retorted, her coy and amorous tone continuing.

"You sure took your time, kitty." Felix cooed at his fellow feline.

Katt simply giggled. "Always leave 'em wanting more, Felix."

"Whatever the case, we've got our window. Let's get movin'! The train's almost to the factory!" Peppy barked in, rallying the whole team to catch up with the train, which had moved ahead by a few miles, entering into a narrow valley.

A valley, which Fox would have to follow on the train tracks. In the Landmaster tank. With a busted tank track. _This is gonna suck._ The vulpine thought to himself, as he swung the tank up onto the tracks. Every inch, every rail, Fox felt the tracks of the Landmaster traverse over. And with the blown out track, the bumps from the track rails made him feel like he was caught in an earthquake. The Landmaster rocked about from side-to-side and trembled on the tracks.

"Hehehe…" the train captain chuckled, "What's wrong? Come a little closer!"

The flight team swung in over the valley, unable to get a clean shot at the train. And with Fox's instability on the tracks, nobody could really slow the train down or cover for the demolition crew on board. From overhead, Peppy called in to the demos to learn that since Katt's reappearance, Slippy, Croc and Johnny had advanced to the fifth cart, having quickly secured and detached the valuables as they went along.

"Screw this." Miyu suddenly hissed over the communicator. She swung in down the side of the valley- a bold move- and took shots at the main cab.

"DAMN! Ya pesky varmint! Step on the gas!" Benjamin shouted as Miyu almost rolled into the train, before sliding up and right just over the last cart and pulling up into the skies. "Hehehe… You're outta luck now! Calling supply factory! This here is Cap'in Benjamin of the Forever Train. We're under attack! Could use assistance!" With that simple command, three squadrons of Venomian fighters charged from the horizon, ready to engage the flight team.

"Watch out, people! We've got boogies inbound!" Peppy warned as the fighters grew closer.

Falco grinned. "Some new action, huh? Bring 'em on!"

"You said it, Falco!" Miyu sneered as she returned to the other flight members.

Slippy called in to say they were done with the fifth car and were moving ahead. Again, Benjamin tried to cut them off by detaching the cars, but this time he was cleverer than before; rather than detach the rear most vehicle first, he ordered their next target detached first. It was a mad scramble for Slippy, Croc and Johnny to run from their current cart, through the soldiers attacking them, across the next empty bed and towards the next cargo car… whilst they slowly drifted further away.

"Damn, man…" Johnny sighed as they approached their last jump that laid just out of reach. "We almost had it…"

"No!" a squeaky yell erupted from behind the lynx. "We've still got this!" Suddenly, Slippy charged from the midpoint on the open car and sprung across a twenty metre gap on to the back of the car. "Croc, Johnny! Drop back to the Landmaster! Fox should be able to give you a lift!"

"Hold on in there, Slip! We'll be right back!" Croc barked out to him as he slung Johnny under one arm and charged back to the rear cart, watching as Fox bumbled along behind the train. The reptilian took a breath, and then took a leap, barely managing to land on the Landmaster, rather than under it. "G'day, Foxy! Reckon ya could get us on the next car once we're outta the valley?"

"Sure thing. But where's that-"

"Crikey! Fox mate, JUMP!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Fox hit the boosters and rocketed the Landmaster into the air, sailing over the stunted car. The tank briefly dropped down onto the cart before rolling off and back onto the train tracks, sending the trio onto another run on bumpy ground. After a quick cooldown, Fox hit the boosters and rocketed up behind the rear cart, the Landmaster almost jumping straight off the tracks with each bump in the land. Just as he relieved the booster, Croc leapt back aboard the train with Johnny, and re-joined Slippy in the cargo carriage.

Soon, the valley opened up below, allowing Fox to drop off the tracks and back onto hard sand, providing a much smoother ride. _Ah, now that's better._ Fox wondered. The calmer land had massively reduced the rocking and jumping from the Landmaster on the uneven surface, and now he was back to simply wrestling control from the tank's lazy track. Fox passed underneath the track and took aim at some ground backup for the train, including another squadron of fighters. He quickly pulled back up a hill and was again on a level field with the Forever Train.

"Almost there now! Speed it up!" Benjamin proclaimed, urging the train forward at higher speeds as the locomotive approached a tunnel. Fox would have follow on the tracks once more.

 _Great._

As the train quickly passed into the tunnel, it wasn't long before the demolition team caught wind. "Hey… what's goin' on, who turned out the lights in here?" Johnny queried, as cool as ever.

"Looks like y-********-red a tun-***- We'll see ya'll on t-****-her side!" a transmission from Peppy barely managed to splutter.

Croc simply chuckled, "Looks like we're on our own for now. And that just about covers this cart! Let's move on, lads!" the three then emerged into the darkness of the tunnel, where they heard the rumble of a tank bouncing along the tracks and echoing throughout the darkened passage.

"Whoa… lights out everywhere… Mondo weird." Johnny mumbled.

"Th-th-this is t-t-trippy… I d-d-don't like how d-d-dark it is in here, guys! And the s-s-sound isn't helping!" Slippy stammered as they moved onto the third car ahead.

"Don't worry, Slip. That sound is just Fox in the Landmaster, and I reckon we're almost outta this tunnel! Look ahead, a light!"

True to his word, Croc had indeed seen the light at the end of the tunnel; they had only been submerged into the darkness for about half an hour or so, and yet they were almost out again. Rallying the frog and lynx, Croc passed from the checked cart into the next one, detaching the link before making his jump. Within another ten minutes, the train slowly began to re-emerge into the light of the Macbethian desert… only with a troubling sight on the horizon: the Venomian supply factory.

As Fox finally rolled out of the tunnel in the Landmaster (moving back to the desert ground), Peppy called in. "We're almost to the supply depot! It's now or never! Slippy, get to the cab! NOW!" the old rabbit shouted with a thunderous bark.

Without hesitation, Slippy jumped ahead, almost leaving Croc and Johnny behind in the cargo vehicle. As they ran to catch up, Benjamin ordered the car detached before they could jump. Croc only just managed to make the leap, whereas Johnny fell behind. As chilled as he was when the job started, Johnny simply shrugged his shoulders and waited for the car to stop.

Miyu, on the other hand, wasn't so relaxed. "Get ready, Johnny! I'm comin' in to pick you up!" An Invader/II starfighter pulled in alongside the slowing car.

"Hey, lil' sis… Don't worry about me… Get after the train, and help out Fox and the others." Johnny seemingly whispered over the communicator, his voice tuning into a very soft gentle whisper.

"But, Johnny…"

"Quit worryin' bout me, girl… I'll be A-O-Kay, okay? Now go rock their world, lil' sis!"

With a hardened resolve, Miyu sped into the air and blasted a good seven fighters that buzzed around the other Star Fox/Hellfire Cats, allowing Falco and Felix to slip out and tag the other enemy fighters. Within just a few minutes, the Venomian reinforcements were obliterated in a hail of inferno and metallic rain.

"Good work there, Miyu. Nice shootin'." Peppy boomed over the communicator.

"That's how it's done in the Hellfire Cats!" Miyu proclaimed proudly.

"Heh…" Benjamin grumbled. "I wasn't expecting I'd have to use this on you pesky varmints… Consider yourselves lucky! Activate the assault drone!" With that, the last cargo bed before the cab suddenly lit up with a long energy cord connected to the back of the cab. From under a large tarp, an advanced biomechanical drone jetted up into the air above the train, the tarp jumping straight off and falling upon the ground, almost blanketing Fox and the Landmaster. The drone was suspended above the train by the energy cord and its twin jet boosters.

"So this is the new assault craft…" Felix muttered seemingly in awe.

"That's right, Hellfire Cats! This is the brand-new Venomian Biomechanical Assault Drone Prototype: MECHBETH!" Benjamin announced with heightened zeal and pride.

Most of the assault team were relatively awed by the 'Mechbeth'. Falco, on the other hand… "Really, pal? Even Deathmonger was a bettah name!"

"Oh really, bird boi-yah? Well then, let's see how you like Cap'n Benjamin now! Activatin' laser cannons!" Suddenly, two laser beams began charging from its frontal turrets. The twin beams then erupted and struck out at Fox, only to fall a little short of the Landmaster and blast a large crater into the ground.

"Make room for Katt!" the Hellfire Cats' leader proclaimed as she swung by the train, firing at the drone as it prepared its next strike. "Hey Fox! You take the left, I've got the right from here, hon." Katt flew ahead of Fox, who rolled the Landmaster straight over the tracks and out of the Mechbeth's field of vision.

"Well now, looks like the kitty wants to play… Come on in closer, little kitty, and let's see you play with ma assault drone! Step on the gas, boys! Bypass the base if ya have to!"

"You with me, Miyu?" Katt queried.

"Comin' in hot, Katt!"

Suddenly, two Hellfire Invader/II starfighters shot towards the train and splattered the Mechbeth prototype with laser fire, enough to cut through its frontal armour and even damage its energy cord. Peppy called Fox over the communicator to tell him of a track switch ahead, which would direct the train into the supply base whether Benjamin wanted to or not. Katt and Miyu kept the drone busy as Falco, Felix and Peppy ensured that the Venomian attackers were held at bay in the skies, whilst Fox boosted up to the back of the train's cab. At the foot of the cab, Slippy and Croc were busy rigging up the explosives, or at least some kind of device with a destructive yield.

"Croc, Slippy, we're almost outta time! Jump, now!" Fox cried as he continuously boosted to keep up with the train cab, his ruined tank track almost on the breaking point of careening him off to the left with no chance of catching back up.

"No worries, Foxy! Just keep the ole' girl steady!"

As the boosters on the Landmaster were just about to burn out, Croc and Slippy dived from the train onto the tank, clinging on for dear life as Fox pulled back to jump over the emptied bed back onto the right side of the tracks. Above them, Hellfire Cats Katt, Miyu and Felix and Star Fox pilots Peppy and Falco zipped around, blasting the Mechbeth prototype with their cannons. But the work was far from over; the tracks ahead were positioned so that the train would cruise passed the factory off to the right. The last chance to send the train towards the factory laid with the rail switcher, which the train had almost passed. Using what little time he had left, Fox pushed forward and boosted the Landmaster straight into the switcher- a large mechanical hand- ramming it at full speed. The arm of the switch slowly clicked over, changing the rail from full ahead to the right. After another triumphant "Step on the gas!" from Captain Benjamin, the crew of the Forever Train realised too little, too late that they were en route towards the factory.

"That's it! Hit it, Slip!" Croc bellowed as the train slowly tilted to the right. With that, Slippy detonated a trigger which caused a massive electrical surge to run throughout the entire train cab, and its last couple of cars. The Mechbeth stopped attacking and seemingly short-circuited, whilst the train steadily became faster and faster.

"No!" Benjamin cried. "Hit the brakes, dammit! Hit the damned brakes!"

"W-We can't, sir! Something is forcing our systems to continue at full speed!"

The train then began to crash through a number of bumper brakes laid out on the track, in an attempt to slow the train down. Alas, the train continued at its top speed, crashing through the bumpers and flinging them off to the sides. As the factory- a tall imposing knife-like spire with a wide assortment of industrial sectors built around it- came into the field of view of the train, Benjamin made a panicked cry.

"Calling supply factory!" he screamed down the communicator. "I-I-I…." He seemed to be unable to get a word out, as the factory swallowed his vision. "I can't STOP IT!" And with his last cry, the Forever Train vanished down the station tunnel with Mechbeth tethered to the back, slowly crashing into the tunnel and ripping it open. With the sudden impact, the drone promptly began to erupt with an overflow of energy and a malfunctioning error. The tunnel then suddenly lit up with a fiery growl, the train crashed through the work floors in the factory before the whole place was soon ablaze in running fire and static explosive blasts.

"Hoorah!" Peppy cheered out. "Good goin', Fox! I'll call ROB on to bring you boys in for pickup!"

"You're pretty good, tiger!" Katt cooed as she and her fellow Cats flew by. "See you next time…"

Falco simply groaned. "Give it a rest, Katt. Least we stuck it to Andross and his goons. Now it's our trun to kick some ass!"

As Fox, Croc and Slippy sat around waiting for pickup (the Landmaster was practically totalled with its busted track and wrecked front side), the conversation came down to how the train actually detonated. Croc explained that rather than use a standard contact explosive, they ripped the train up to an EMP device to fix the speed of the train at their maximum output, forcing the train to go at top speed with no way to slow down in time. And the EMP surge also short-circuited the Mechbeth drone into entering a self-destructive protocol; and with the fuel still on board the train and the energy used to power the drone, Croc and Slippy realised that it would take very little to cause a fire in the factory, and barely longer than a quick fire before it would become a factory-levelling explosion.

"You guys really outdid yourselves on this one!" Fox complimented his two hitchhikers.

"Heh!" Croc chuckled. "All in a day's work for the Hellfire Cats!"

"I can still picture the look on that engineer's face when he figured out he couldn't slow down!" Slippy giggled.

"Whelp… We've still got a lot of time to kill before Peppy and ROB get here with recovery."

"Hope you dudes don't forget about me, dudes… I'm still here, right?"


	13. Chapter 12- Aquas, Terror of the Deep

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 12: Mission 5, Aquas and the Terrors of the Ocean Deep

Leaving planet Macbeth behind aboard the _Great Fox_ , Star Fox and the Hellfire Cats parted ways about halfway towards the mercenary team's next target: Aquas. A world almost entirely covered in water, the planet was a strange cross between hostile and hospitable. The rare sightings of land on Aquas were almost relegated to myth and stories, so life was sustained in the glamourous mega-city of Aquapolis, a continent-sized city located deep beneath the waves. As a water world, Aquas was also home to a rich sea ecosystem and wildlife. But during this terrible war, Andross had polluted the planet with dangerous toxins which turned the often peaceful aquatic life under the seas against the Aquasians, and Aquapolis was under siege from these sea creatures.

Aboard the bridge, Fox and General Pepper spoke about the next mission. "Well done back on Macbeth, Fox! Destroying Andross' main munitions factory will put him back months! But the job is far from through yet; the sea-life of Aquas has turned against the people who would call this backwater world home. Andross' pollution and bio-technology has produced some kind of mutated creature that lurks deep within the darkest corners of the Aquasian oceans, harassing the Aquapolis city-state. Seek out this bioweapon and see it defeated!"

"Yes sir!" Fox boomed proudly.

"Pepper out!"

As the General's hologram disappeared, Fox slumped over as he came to a realisation that he didn't have the heart to share with the General: Star Fox didn't possess any kind of underwater exploration equipment or vehicles. And, as Peppy argued, they had no real way of communicating with the Aquapolis communications. The frequency encryptions were too hard for Cornerian radios to decipher, and even if the process were easy, speaking with the city whilst it was under siege would get them nowhere. Whilst under siege, Aquapolis locked down its social systems and redirected all of the city's electrical power to its defences from the depths; whilst peaceful, the Aquas sea life was known for its stubbornness and terrifying power when enraged.

"Looks like we're up a creek with no paddle in sight…" Peppy grumbled as he and Fox considered their options.

"You said it, Peppy."

"Ya' know…" an unknown yet familiar voice murmured in the background. It was Slippy. "I might have a way of getting below sea level."

The frog lead his leporine and vulpine teammates off the bridge and down to the cargo hold, again plunging deep into the darkness of the bowels of the Star Fox mothership. Taking his comrades deep into the hold and over to a large dark tarp, Slippy triggered the lights, grabbed a hold on the tarp and yanked it as hard as he could, barely even unveiling whatever lay beneath. He readied himself and pulled the tarp once more, finally managing to reveal a nine foot-long, seven foot-high submersible. Small and sleek, the sub was painted in the colours of Team Star Fox, with a twin-barrelled T1-UP laser turret and homing missile launcher, radar & sonar system for underwater navigation.

Peppy playfully gave Slippy a cheeky elbow to the ribs. "Kept this quiet, didn't cha son? Holdin' out on us, Slippy?"

"W-What? No, of course not! It's just that… me and my dad worked on this thing back at the Academy. But unlike the Landmaster, this has never been in production elsewhere before. We literally cobbled together a prototype out of spare parts and scrap metal we could find around the Academy and in the Space Dynamics shipyards. A-Anyway, it's a submarine equipped with all the bells and whistles for underwater exploration and combat. We started off just wanting it for straight-up diving, but then that creep Andross attacked and-"

"Mah memory may play up from time to time Slip, but I remember Andross' attack as clear as day. How far can this puppy dive?" Peppy continued with a playful mood, barely containing a grin and chuckle at his own humour.

"Oh! Easily gets down to 2000 metres below the water's surface." Slippy proudly proclaimed, his hands gripping his belt both casually and with suspense.

Fox stepped in. "You got a name for your little pet project then, Slip?"

"Sure! Me and my dad called it… the Blue Marine!" Slippy proudly proclaimed, his squeaky little voice echoing through the hold.

Fox and Peppy dully eyed their comrade. "And I thought 'Deathmonger' and 'Mechbeth' were unimaginative…" the vulpine mumbled under his breath.

Slippy's proud smile switched to an insulted frown. "Who cares what it's called? 'Blue' and 'Marine' evoke thoughts of the sea and water, so it makes sense that it does something with water. Right, Fox?"

"Can't fault the kid there, son. Alright then Slip; you get this sub o' yers over to the loading platform and call ROB about droppin' us into the water. I'll go get Falco and we'll head on down below the seas..."

Before Peppy could wander off, however, Slippy nervously stated: "That's the problem… the Blue Marine only has two seats. And I'm the only one who knows how to pilot it."

Fox and Peppy- each stood across the hold- slapped themselves to the head. Hard. _Of course it's only two seats._ The pair each thought to themselves. And with Slippy as the only pilot, that meant this mission was now a two-man job only. And someone- out of Fox, Falco and Peppy- would have to join Slippy in the submarine as the gunman. Calling Falco down to the hold, the fox, bird and rabbit each claimed a small piece of wire each that Slippy had found lying around the floor of the hold. Before handing the wires to his teammates, the frog equalised their length and cut one just shorter than the others. He then mixed them up in his hands and held them out to his comrades. Whoever drew the shortest wire would be the one to join him in the Blue Marine.

"On three, boys?" Peppy said, his wire held tightly in his hand. Fox and Falco nodded. "One… Two… Three!" They all opened their hands to reveal their wires in their palms. The man with the shortest wire was…

"Bad luck, Fox!" Falco squawked.

Fox McCloud. _Damn!_

"Be careful down there, you two. We're not gonna be able to send ya any kind of advice or guidance whilst yer below the seas." Peppy warned.

"Well…" Slippy began to mumble. "You can still kinda help out… the Blue Marine is loaded with a couple of hidden cameras around the hull. You guys can look out any sea monsters in the darkness!"

"Uh, Slip?" Falco quizzed. "Ya do know that cameras can't see in the dark, right? Especially underwater, right?"

"Hey, I'm not dumb, Falco! The cameras are equipped with special light effects that increase visibility in low-light areas. And in the case of a submarine, those low-light areas are underwater! Booyah!" Slippy triumphantly cheered his own technological brilliance and 'witty' putdown.

Falco seemingly brimmed with embarrassment, a clenched fist of feathers trembling in his hand. "If you're not careful, Slip, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"That's enough, Falco. You too, Slip. I certainly don't want a fight breaking out down here. So let's keep this civil now." Peppy grumbled, stepping between Falco and Slippy to stop the conflict before it could erupt. "Let's get the Blue Marine out onto the loading lift and get the lil' sub dropped in the water. Guessin' you've got some kind o' monitor for me, Slippy?"

The frog sprung upon the sub, released the entrance hatch on top and slipped inside. Just as soon as he vanished into the sub, Slippy returned with a pad which he presented to the old rabbit. Slippy explained how it displayed every camera hidden within the hull of the sub; a camera covered each of the eight cardinal points and were fitted with underwater vision settings that could pierce deep into the darkness of the oceans. Also attached to the pad was a microphone and headset which would allow for two-way communications between the sub and the "land crew", or in this case the Star Fox members left back on the _Great Fox_. As Slippy continued to explain, Fox and Falco secured the submarine in a diving frame, clamping the Blue Marine in a skeleton system that lifted the sub off the hold floor and held it aloft as they directed the frame over to the loading lift. Unlike the Landmaster, the loading lift would opened akin to a shutter door for the Blue Marine, as opposed to dropping down and disembarking. As Fox and Falco lined the frame up, they went around the four corners of the platform and locked them onto the corners of the lift, ensuring the frame wouldn't slide about as they detached the Blue Marine into the water.

With the frame secured, Fox leapt onto the body of the sub and pulled himself up to the top, where he hopped into the sub through the open hatch. Just like the Landmaster, the Blue Marine was rather tight on the inside, juxtaposed by its exterior. Whilst the lack of space made sense for the Landmaster, however, it lacked sense for the submarine; if it started to take on water, the crew would have less room to manoeuvre in and less time before being submerged in water. Fox theorised that it started out as a one-man exploration sub, which was then repurposed for combat situations and needed an extra seat for the weapons systems.

Regardless, Fox slipped into the turrets seat and strapped himself, pulling the harnesses over his shoulders and locking them around his waist, tucking him firmly into the chair. Slippy soon joined him; hopping up the hull and sliding through the hatch, Slippy bounced off the floor in the sub, rocketed back up towards the hatch before grasping the inside and letting gravity do its work, pulling him back down and closing the hatch with it. Slippy then squeezed himself into the pilot's seat and strapped in.

 _"Testing, testin'. Check, check, one, two, three… Can ya hear me in there, boys?"_ Peppy quizzed over the radio.

"Loud and clear, Peppy!" Fox and Slippy boomed.

 _"Alright then, boys. Good hunting!"_

"Deploying Blue Marine!" Slippy proudly proclaimed.

"ROB, open the loading platform, drop-off!" Fox ordered over his personal communicator.

 _"Affirmative, Captain Fox! Opening loading platform!"_

With that order, an alarm sounded in the hold, informing any members still about to stand clear of the loading lift as it opened from within the _Great Fox_ , the skeleton frame and the Blue Marine dangling above the oceans of Aquas below. With the all-clear from ROB, Fox called out to Peppy, who detached the sub from the frame. The Blue Marine dropped from the frame out the bottom of the _Great Fox_ mothership, plummeting towards the sea's surface. After a quick fall, the sub crashed onto the water's surface with a loud sploshing noise. Fox and Slippy were a little disorientated from the drop, something which Slippy conveniently forgot to mention before dropping, much to the chagrin of his flight-mate. As they were sitting safely on the surface, Slippy engaged the water tanks to sink the sub, pulling water from the surrounding seas and forcing the Blue Marine to slowly submerge below the surface. The blue crystalline surface slowly evolved into a midnight blue before suddenly shifting to pitch black.

"Damn, I can't see anything!" Fox exclaimed over the crew radio. The view from the cannons was of total blackness, as if staring into a void of nothing.

"The turret systems are installed with deep-sea diving night vision too, Fox! Just toggle the switch behind the stick to change vision mode." Slippy sighed as he steered the sub further into the blackness.

Fox took the advice and depressed a trigger behind the joystick controlling his turrets. Every camera display for the turrets suddenly shifted, showing faint colourings off in the distance, likely the outline of aquatic life. The vulpine frowned and returned to his communicator.

"Weird that you're just telling me this _now_ , Slippy. Could've done it back on the _Fox_."

"Hey, lay off Fox. You've got the easy job here, I'm the one who's piloting the submarine." Slippy whined as he stabilised the water tanks and steered further into the darkness.

Despite the attack on Aquapolis somewhere in the darkness, the seas of Aquas were rather peaceful, seemingly unfazed by the war against Andross and his Venomian empire. Slippy hesitated on activating the sub's floodlights; while they would increase his visibility somewhat, they would also attract the frenzied sea-life lurking somewhere in the darkness. For now, he left them off, relying on Peppy's directions from the hull cameras, his own skills at the helm and Fox's defences from the turrets. Sweat slowly ran down Slippy's head, unnerving the poor frog and making him a little high-strung and paranoid. His smooth skin soon became a slippery surface as he wiped his head dry of the sweat, but he couldn't help it. This mission was solely in the hands of Slippy Toad, and it deeply scared him.

After about an hour in the dark seas, Slippy and Fox finally encountered life. And it wasn't friendly. A squid-like creature latched onto the rear of the Blue Marine, covering the rear of the sub and giving Peppy a grand view of the squid's inner mouth. Its tentacles wrapped around the Blue Marine and slowly began to squeeze, causing the hull of the Blue Marine to groan and squeak under the strain. Fox redirected the turrets and open fired on the squid, blasting it straight through and throwing it from the sub.

 _"Good shootin', Fox."_ Peppy commented. _"How you boys hangin' in down there?"_

"We're doing good, Peppy. That squid may have caught us by surprise, but it just means we're closing in on the fight." Fox responded, scanning his turrets much more attentively.

Slippy grunted and groaned as he took the Blue Marine deeper into the darkness. "Something's wrong with the sonar… it's like there's interference or something."

 _"Ya goin' deep below sea level, Slip. In a hot-tub ya stuck together outta scrap and glue. I don't think it'll keep together for long."_ Falco chided.

Falco's comments cut deep for Slippy. He wasn't just insulting his own skills, but his father's as well; Slippy's father, Beltino, was the Director of Engineering at Space Dynamics, a former engineering teacher at the Flight Academy back on Corneria and helped develop the defence systems used in Aquapolis. The guy wasn't some grease monkey who tinkered with machines for fun. He was a mechanical genius and Slippy's personal idol; Beltino's brilliant mind and expertise in the field of mechanics not only developed the technological marvels used on Corneria and Aquas, but ran throughout the entire Lylat system. Despite this disgrace, Slippy ignored Falco, knowing that any distraction could prove fatal not just for him, but for Fox too.

After fending off another wave of squid and incoming sharks, the Blue Marine swam into ancient Aquasian ruins, half-sunk beneath the sands on the ocean's floor. Great pillars rose up through the waters, as if to pierce the heavens themselves. Slippy couldn't help but admire the delicate carvings within each pillar and the serenity of the area; the aquatic creatures seemingly circled the site, as they swam around the pillar fields rather than go through them in pursuit of the Blue Marine. It seemed that the pillars could have been some kind of sacred land long ago (before the seas consumed Aquas), or the creatures knew on instinct that hunting within the pillar fields was useless, as their prey could slip around the pillars and escape the maws of the predatory hunters.

Passing through the ruins, Slippy and Fox returned to open waters, with the squid and sharks that circled them now in hot pursuit. While the Blue Marine wasn't fast enough to outrun them, it made up for this lack of speed with firepower; Fox was quick on the draw, zapping the sharks on the nose to frenzy them against their fellows or disorientate them and force them to flee. Meanwhile, the squids slowly glided around the sub, charging passed the front to spook Slippy and latching onto the hull with a tight squeeze. Fox struggled to get a good shot on the two squids that had latched onto the hull just out of range for the turrets to target.

"I can't reach 'em! You've gotta do something, Slippy!" the vulpine barked as he shook himself around in a vain attempt to see the squids better.

Meanwhile, Slippy had grown silent. The stress of this mission had seemingly overwhelmed him; gone was the chipper engineer and here was a frightened young man. The comments on the Blue Marine's design and the craftsmanship behind it had really struck a blow with him. What if the sub wasn't built as well as he had once thought? And now he had seemingly led both himself and his best friend to their deaths in the deepest, darkest corners of the Aquasian seas. If these sea monsters didn't kill them, then any punctures to the hull would flood the sub and the pair would likely drown. It was all too much for Slippy to think on, and it all came at the worst possible time. Fox's pleas to Slippy fell deaf, and the frog slunk deeper into his anxiety and passiveness…

 _Slippy thought back to his days at the Corneria Flight Academy and his studies at the local Space Dynamics station where his father had made an appearance for a lecture on G-Diffusers and other mechanical marvels that the old frog had developed. Slippy was just a few years younger (just before he joined Star Fox), yet still his face and demeanour was that of a young man still finding himself and his passion. After his father's lecture, Slippy pulled him aside for a conversation. Father and son retreated to the roof of the station, where they sat and watched the sun set on a beautiful golden yellow canvas with a vibrant orange blow in the sky._

 _"What did you want to talk to me about, Slippy?" Beltino quizzed his son. He was dressed in an orange lab-coat, simple clothes with black dress shoes and his distinguishing squared glasses perched atop his lips._

 _"Dad…" Slippy started, struggling to find the words to say. "I… I'm… dropping out of the Academy… And… I'm leaving my engineering degree…" Beltino sat on in silence, waiting for his son to continue. "Fox is leaving too, he's… he's going to reform his dad's team and take the fight to Andross, a-a-and he wants me to come along… I was going to discuss this with you, but… I-I got caught up in the moment and told him I'd be there… But, now I… I don't know what to do…" Slippy whimpered and quivered slightly, trying his damnedest not to cry._

 _"Why do you want to go with Fox, son?" Beltino queried him. Slippy was very quiet as he tried to think why he had made such a rash decision on the spot without thinking it all through first._

 _"Because… he's my friend, and he needs-_ _ **wants**_ _\- my help. But, it means I… I have to give up everything… flying for the Academy, the job at Space Dynamics working with you… I-I-I don't know if I can do it…"_

 _Beltino placed a firm hand on Slippy's shoulder. "You didn't think about your future because you wanted to help your friend, here and now. I know how much you want to come to Space Dynamics once you graduate, but just because you go off and help Fox… it doesn't mean you're going to lose out on your dreams of engineering and mechanics, Slippy. And without the executives on your back, you'd have all the time in the world to research and construct new projects."_

 _"Dad…" Slippy was barely holding his sobs as tears flooded his eyes and poured down his face. "All I ever wanted to do… was make you proud…"_

 _"Slippy… I don't care if you spend the rest of your life sweeping litter off the streets. You're growing into a fine young man, and you'll always be my only son. And I'll always do what I can to see you through the bad times, and be there for the good times." Beltino moved in gently and brought his son in for a firm comforting hug. "Don't be afraid, Slippy…"_

 _Don't be afraid…_

With those words running through his head, Slippy suddenly shifted gears into a whole new persona. Gone was his defeated silence, replaced with a triumphant huff and proud shout:

"GET OFF MY SUB, SQUIDDIES!"

His outrageous outburst should have evoked a laugh from Fox; instead, the vulpine was dumbstruck as Slippy sent the Blue Marine into a violent spin, jerking the controls backwards and forwards, left and right, charging the sub deeper into the darkness to loosen the squids clinging on for dear life. Charging deeper and deeper, the squids finally were no longer able to hold onto the sub and detached, putting them in Fox's sights. He fired upon them and blasted them to ribbons before the sharks devoured what was left over.

With the enemy defeated for now, Fox slacked in his chair and sighed a heavy gust of relief. His quick rest was swiftly interrupted by his crewmate Slippy however, who had leapt from his seat after righting the sub and halting it deep in the dark seas. Stood firm with one foot proudly atop the step, the matching arm hanging at the hip and his other arm pointing off into the nothingness, Slippy took a deep breath and proclaimed at the top of his lungs:

"MY NAME IS SLIPPY TOAD, AND THIS SUBMERSIBLE IS MY CREATION, THE BLUE MARINE PROTOTYPE. AND IT! IS! UNSTOPPABLE! UNSINKABLE! AND… UNDEFEATABLE!"

"Uh, Slippy?" Fox gasped, as the sudden outburst took the poor vulpine's breath away. "If you're finished playing superhero, you mind sitting down and getting back to the mission?"

Slippy loosened his heroic pose and looked back at Fox. "Oh! Huh… Yeah, s-sure thing. Sorry, Fox." The frog then stepped away from his stance and seated himself back in the seat.

As Fox turned back to his controls, he suddenly felt a great unease from his stomach. "Hey Slippy… does this sub have an exhaust port?" he worryingly grumbled.

"Yeah, it's at the back. Why?"

Before Fox could even respond, he was on his feet and charging to the rear of the sub, one hand cautiously cupped over his muzzle. Striking the port release, Fox let loose a quick vomitus discharge before huffing for his breath. "Cos... I just abouto say… I think I'm… gonna see last night's dinner again… Ugh, that stinks…" Fox clumsily stood back up, wiped his mouth and returned to his seat, still huffing and puffing.

"Quick thinking, Fox. I wouldn't want the Blue Marine to stink of throw-up!" Slippy chuckled as he set the sub off again. "Guess spinning like that underwater isn't exactly the best idea for shaking off cling-ons."

"Don't mind me, Slippy. It was actually a good idea. Just… warn me next time, will ya?"

"Sure thing, Fox!"

The two slowly dove deeper into the dark seas, squid and sharks and whales attacking the sub only to be shot at and spooked into swimming away. As they approached a small gorge, an angler fish swam up behind them, alerting Fox. Slippy dove out of the way, putting Fox in sight to blast the angler in its lantern, frenzying it and prompting it to attack all that swam too close. Luckily the Blue Marine was swimming away through the gorge, avoiding the frenzied monster.

 _"Good swimmin', Slip!"_ Peppy boomed.

"Thanks, Peppy!"

 _"You guys actually trust that thing to hold together? You must be nuts!"_ Falco snapped, dismissing the Blue Marine.

This time, however, Slippy left unashamed and unfazed by Falco's comments, ignoring him easily and continuing through the gorge. The gorge masked greater dangers, however. Giant jellyfish- in a small bloom of fifty- stuck together to create an impenetrable field of membrane and plasmatic current, forcing the Blue Marine to slow down and carefully duck and dive between the fields. Octopuses and squids suddenly and violently broke through parts of the bloom to strike the Blue Marine or latch on. Fox was able to shiftily remove the cephalopods from the hull or before they could even reach them, but the Star Fox Team weren't so fortunate in that the injured that fled caught themselves in the nets of the jellyfish, lighting up their plasma field and trapping the Blue Marine within. With bold bravado, Slippy engaged the sub's G-Diffusers once more and ploughed through the stingers on the jellyfish, sending the Blue Marine into a wild spin through the depths of the sea and out into an open plain, dark and quiet.

Slippy whooped and cooed from the mad dash. "Man, that was crazy!"

"And now we're sittin' ducks. Good going, Slippy." Fox grumbled, as the lights within the sub flickered from the power outage.

"Don't worry!" Slippy chimed as he hopped from his seat and removed some of the flooring, squeezing into a field of wires and hardware built within the form of the Blue Marine. Armed with little more than a spanner-wrench, a screwdriver and a "sparkstick", Slippy soon got the power back on.

But their troubles were far from over.

"SLIPPY!" Fox shrieked as he took one look down the sightings for the turrets. "GET UP HERE AND GET US THE HELL OUTTA HERE!"

The suddenly startled frog bounced and bumbled his way back to into the sub and towards the piloting controls, where before him laid a monstrous image. An enormous clam shell- almost the size of a small villa- sat on the ocean floor, its gaping mouth opening wide to unveil a cephalopod-like mutant dwelling within; tentacles at over a hundred feet long stretched out to slam the Blue Marine. Slippy just barely managed to throw the sub down towards the sea floor, away from the giant swipe. Fixing their cameras into the clam, Fox and Slippy gazed upon a giant sea creature seemingly nesting in the gargantuan shell; a single eye coloured like a violet star gazed out into the blackness and let out a sonar scream.

Slippy barely had enough time to remove his headset before the scream ruptured his eardrums. "Man, that monster's loud!" he exclaimed as he threw the headset away and gazed in awe at the mutant of the depths.

 _"What the hell is that giant freak!?"_ Falco squawked in shock.

 _"Looks like the product of Andross' experiments… And the main cause of the disruption to the Aquasian sea-life! There's a flashing emitter comin' from deep inside the beast's skin, so tearin' it out ain't likely an option. She's gonna have to come down, boys!"_

Slippy eyed the mutant a little more closely. "Hmm…" he mumbled, "The Bacoon…"

"Something you know, Slippy?" Fox queried, overhearing Slippy's quiet mumbles.

"I remember reading a book on ancient Aquasian sea-life, and the Bacoon was supposedly this giant cephalopod that lives in a clam, l-like a hermit crab! But, they're not supposed to be _this_ big…"

Another sonar scream echoed throughout the water and blared through Slippy's dropped headphones. The frog swung into action, attempting to dive in close to give Fox a clear shot at the mutant guarded in the clam. However, the Bacoon had other ideas and pulled the clam shut.

 _"On the clam's top, Fox! Drop a torpedo down one o' them chute things! Flush that sucker out!"_ Peppy bombastically boomed.

Timing his shot right, Fox unleashed a homing missile straight down the chute-like protrusion on the back of the Bacoon's clam-like shell. The torpedo zoomed down the funnel and erupted within, casting a blast inside that caused the mutant to bellow in pain and brilliant light to burst out from the clam's seals. Slippy swung down to the mouth of the clam as it opened again to allow the Bacoon to swipe at the Blue Marine again.

Fox unleashed the cannons against the squishy behemoth that hid inside as it swung and flung its tentacles around, all in the vain attempt to hit the sub. With each successfully hit from the lasers the Bacoon let out bellowing scream after bellowing scream until finally the tentacles that stretched out from the clam fell limp and the creature stopped resisting. As the fighting stopped, the clam and mutant within slowly began to rise, with Fox firing another homing missile into the shell to destroy the emitter within the cephalopod's skin. Flashing the clam up once more, the emitter was finally destroyed.

"Oh yeah!" Slippy squealed triumphantly. "We did it!"

"Good going, Slippy. Ya really pulled through!" Fox proclaimed.

"Thanks Fox!

 _"Personally, I prefer the skies…"_ Falco glumly grumbled.

"Hey come on, Falco! The Blue Marine survived everything that got thrown its way!" Slippy wailed. It seems the harsh criticisms to the Blue Marine weren't over just yet, and Slippy's wounded pride in the sub was still rather sore.

 _"Give Slip a break, Falco. This proves he doesn't screw up all the time."_ Peppy mumbled.

"Sheesh! You too, Peppy?" Slippy again wailed.

 _"Whoops, did I leave this radio on?"_

"Hey, Slippy. Don't worry about what those two say; the sub pulled through, that's what matters. Now let's surface and get outta this water, for God's sake! I can barely see a thing down here!"

And with that, Fox radioed in to the _Great Fox_ to drop down for a pickup whilst Slippy steadily rose the Blue Marine from the depths of the Aquasian oceans. With the Bacoon defeated and the emitter destroyed, Star Fox believed that the aquatic life below the seas would cease their mindless attacks on Aquapolis, and peace would return to the watery planet.

In the end, however, only time would tell…


	14. Chapter 13- Zoness, Toxic Wasteland

Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 13: Mission 5, Toxic Wasteland, Planet Zoness

Leaving Aquas behind left the Star Fox Team in high spirits. The rampant Bacoon had been killed, the sea-life returned to its peaceful roaming of the watery frontier and General Pepper had received word from Aquapolis that the assaults had ceased. However, Star Fox's aquatic adventures weren't over just yet, as the _Great Fox_ travelled closer to the Lylat system's second oceanic world, Zoness. Unlike Aquas however, Zoness was still populated with various scattered islands visible on the water's surface. Thanks to these islands and its close proximity to the star system's twin stars, weather on Zoness was almost always beautifully tropical, making the planet a prime location for a holiday. Its man-made stations and natural isles spread tourism around the Lylat system like wildfire; people from all over the star system came to Zoness during its summer months, young couples and families, to retirees and friends looking for their last hoorah together. Zoness was the place to be if one could afford it.

And then Andross usurped the planet from Cornerian control.

In the five years since the war with Andross began, the disgraced scientist had defamed the once heaven-like world. The tropical weather had mutated into acidic storms that battered the islands, forcing the locals and any holidaymakers inside away from the corrosive rain. The oceans- once a crystal clear blue- were now a toxic mix between a malicious black and a vomitus green. The skies above once shone with brilliant blues and cosmic oranges during the day, was now blotted out with dark green clouds. And the cause for this damage? Andross dumping the toxic emissions from his factories on Macbeth into the oceans and poisoning the air with extracts from the acidic seas of Venom. Gone was the beauty and majesty of the planet Zoness, replaced with a toxic dumping ground and withering wasteland… never to be restored to its true glory.

As the _Great Fox_ loomed overhead, Fox stood at the helm of the mothership ready to present to the General. As Pepper's hologram appeared and the two conversed, the once chipper mood of the Star Fox Team suddenly flipped upside down as the quartet of mercenaries realised the damage Andross had done in just five years. Not a thousand years. Not a hundred years. Not even fifty years. **Just. Five. Years.**

"It's simply horrific that Andross has done this to Zoness, in such a short amount of time." General Pepper muttered rather glumly as the _Great Fox_ slowly sat in orbit of the desolated planet below. "It seems this is the defining example of how far he has fallen, if he considers this beautiful…"

Fox shook his head and switched his frown to a confident smile. "Then let's put a stop to this before Zoness gets any worse!"

The general suddenly chuckled triumphantly and boomed, "Roger that, Star Fox! Andross' forces regularly dump their wastes into the oceans around the coordinates twenty-six degrees north, eighty degrees east, where they also collect rare minerals from deep below the ocean's surface. Find Andross' landfill and wipe out that stronghold! Or… flush it away, if you prefer! Ha ha!"

Fox pulled a frown and groaned, "Good one, sir. Star Fox out."

After their briefing, Peppy hailed Fox over and showed him a brief video feed the Hellfire Cats broadcasted to the _Great Fox_ just after they left Aquas. "Seems like this dumping ground Andross has set up is guarded by spotlight buoys out on the waves. Destroying that sewage plant will be the least of our problems, but gettin' passed those spotlights will be the real trick here."

Fox pondered over this new bed of information for a moment, before suggesting, "If Zoness is so dark that Andross' goons need spotlights out on the seas, then we can just fly in low and stay out of the lights, approach the sewage plant and blast the place sky high!"

"If that's how you wanna do it, then let's get down to the hangars and get out over the open waters, shall we?" Peppy smiled as Fox rallied Falco and Slippy and made their way over to the elevator.

Within a few moments, the team were back in their Arwings and ready to launch out into the Zonessian skies as the _Great Fox_ drifted passed. The four Arwings ejected out and screeched through the skies of Zoness, each fighter cutting through a toxic cloud and emerging into the heart of an acidic rainstorm.

"Watch your Arwing's shields, guys! This acid rain is something else!" Slippy cried as his Arwing shields started taking on chip damage. Luckily, that was as about as bad as it would get, as the shields were designed to withstand extreme temperatures and environmental conditions, as the Star Fox Team witnessed back during their mission around Solar.

As they continued on across the open seas towards Andross' sewage plant, it finally struck the four the extent of the damage the mad mogul had done to the planet. Gone was the tropical paradise, and here was a toxic wasteland in its stead. It was one thing to hear of the damage, and another entirely to see it up close and personal. And for two members of Star Fox, this desolation was very much personal.

"THIS is Zoness!?" Peppy exclaimed in horror as he swung over a large wave. "I'd heard the rumours, but this!? … … Mah stars…" He sounded exasperated and overwhelmed. Peppy had very happy memories of Zoness, as he had brought his late wife Vivian to the planet for their honeymoon. The tropical cruises around the islands, sunset evenings and awe-inspiring sunrises filled the once young pair with memories of ecstasy and awe for the future; Peppy looked back on that time as one of the happiest times in his life. He had married his childhood sweetheart and taken her away from the bombed-out warzones of the Inner Worlds of the Lylat system to the beautiful tropics of Planet Zoness. And now, those memories would be lost to the memory of time, and in a few generations, would be seen as mere myth.

Peppy was not alone in this horror and outrage. "I can't believe that Andross could somethin' like this! He's lucky he ain't here, otherwise I'd kick his ass!" Falco furiously squawked. Something that Falco would have liked to keep secret was that he spent a good part of his childhood living on Zoness. Falco didn't talk much about his childhood, but he had told some things to Fox and Slippy during their Academy days, and one of those memories was the years he spent on Zoness. Of all the dysfunction of Falco's younger days, it was nice to hear that Falco had at least some happy memories from his childhood. And yet, just like Peppy's memories of this planet, Falco's would be forgotten and never experienced by anyone else again.

"Man, what a dump!" Slippy exclaimed, his tone rather sombre.

"Heh!" Falco coughed. "I hear ya, Slippy…"

As they continued through the acid showers and drifted passed rock pillars that rose up above the waves, Star Fox soon came into sight of the first wave of spotlights. Just as the Hellfire Cats had spotted, the search lights were built onto buoys and placed out at sea to deter anyone from coming close and sabotaging Andross' sewage plant. Powerful beams of light erupted into the skies and shone across the clouds, looking for any starships that dared fly overhead.

"Watch out for those spotlights, boys!" Peppy cautioned as the four Arwings swung in low and passed by this first set of buoys.

Star Fox continued on, passing by industrial rigs and more spotlight buoys as they flew further into the storm and further towards the elusive sewage plant. As they glided above the seas heading deeper into enemy territory, however, Star Fox soon began to wonder what had happened to the Hellfire Cats. They had seemingly passed by some of the spotlights, as seen from the transmission they had sent Peppy. And yet, here Star Fox were, and the Hellfire Cats had yet to make an appearance at all. Falco voiced his suspicion over this, commenting that it was strange. Peppy noted that it seemed Falco was worried about them.

"Course I'm worried, old man! They used to be _my_ crew, ya know!"

"Frettin' about Katt too, huh?" the old rabbit chuckled.

Falco knew that his fretting extended to her too, but he wasn't too comfortable admitting that; he knew that Katt liked him that way, and that Peppy knew about their dynamic as well. With a meek snarl and a flushed face, Falco merely responded back with: "Shut up, old man…" eliciting a teasing chuckle from Peppy.

After passing another volley of spotlights and avoiding open fire, Star Fox soon found themselves within sight of the sewage plant. _I get that this was a stealth job, but this is just WAY too easy._ Fox thought to himself as the Arwings began to circle the plant. Where were the guards? The defence force? Any Venomian personnel? It was as if Andross was just begging for his Zoness stronghold to be attacked with how little time he had seemingly put into defending this place. Then again, Zoness wasn't famous for any real strategic value, and it was likely Andross took control of it simply because of its close proximity to Venom. Still, this was his primary dumping ground for all his nasty experiments, and there was nothing here to defend the spot.

"Well…" Fox mumbled over his radio. "This was… underwhelming."

Even Peppy was a little dumbfounded. "Well, uh… what's yer order, Fox?"

"Slippy, land on that platform and get some explosives rigged to go."

"Right, Fox!" Slippy zoomed off to the sewage rig, slowing down to land safely on the platform. As he lowered, his teammates pondered on the quiet nature of the area.

"It's quiet. _Too_ quiet." Peppy grumbled ominously.

"Will you quit with that kinda talk? It's real forebodin', old timer!" Falco snapped.

"Sorry to say, son, but that's just what it is: too damn quiet."

Suddenly, an unknown transmission came in over the radio: "Star Fox! If you can hear this, get outta here! IT'S A TRAP!"

"What the-!?"

Just as the radio transmission came in, a fleet of diving tankers emerged from below the seas, all armed with anti-aircraft cannons and aquatic-adapted aircraft that rocketed from the outer decks of the tankers into the skies, catching Fox, Falco and Peppy off-guard. The sudden assault cut through Star Fox's shields, and the three were quickly forced to scramble and scatter around the rig to get a better position to counterattack. From the eight tankers that surfaced, about ten fighters burst from the hull of each, massively outnumbering Star Fox. Fox and Falco joined together, zooming up close to each other before barely scraping by each other to attack the other's pursuers; both pilots easily downed at least ten fighters each with one run of this move. Their next manoeuvre was to dive towards the ocean surface with the enemy in hot pursuit, only to pull up at the last second. A risky operation, and one that wasn't a guaranteed success, but effective enough to take out a few enemy fighters. Of the fifteen fighters that followed the two between them, about nine fell victim to the dive, crashing straight into the sea. Whilst their ships were aquatic and could withstand underwater docking, they were seemingly unequipped to travel under the seas. The oceans cut their engines, leaving the fighters either to float powerless or sink if they had taken hull damage.

Peppy was left on his own for a good portion of the surprise attack. Despite his age holding him back from the more insane moves his younger comrades were using, Peppy still put up a good fight on his own. He told Slippy to stay on the rig and set up the explosives. Keeping their rookie pilot out of the fray meant Peppy only had to worry about himself, as he swung under the rig, attracting a small squad of six in after him, weaving in and out of the pillar beams that held the rig aloft on the waves. When Peppy emerged on the far side of the rig, only two pursuers managed to follow him through, as the others had slammed into the beams, exploding in a brilliant flash of metallic fire.

Pulling up sharply, Peppy darted through the exhaust chimneys on the rig, trying to lure his remaining pursuers into the clouds of smoke that billowed into the skies. They were smarter, however, as they sped above and dove back down on top of Peppy as he charged free from the rig. Pulling off to the right, Peppy managed to avoid having his Arwing smashed into or shot by the enemy fighters, who swung up to chase after him. As he looped around the rig, his pursuers were blasted off-guard and exploded into fragmentation showers before the scrap slammed into the oceans.

As he pulled up into the sky, Fox jumped on his radio, "Careful, old timer. That was a close one."

The old rabbit simply chuckled, "Guess it was. Thanks for the save, Fox."

In this brief moment of respite, Fox and Peppy were ambushed by a new squad of six from all angles, cutting through their shields and spooking the Star Fox pilots. Fox and Peppy split off from each other in the hopes of shaking their attackers, but this squad was too attentive and too quick, tracking their movements and pushing them into a new ambush. As one pilot flew off with a single pursuer behind them, they would both meet and charge straight up to the remaining four that lay ahead of their predictable flightpath. When the pair realised their mistake, they were barely able to swing up towards the sky, avoiding a head-on collision or a frontal/rear assault from the squad. Again, these fighters were too sharp for Star Fox's evasive action, and all quickly chased after Fox and Peppy with ease. It was only when they caught up with Falco by accident that they finally stood something of a chance at shaking them off; Fox and Falco rolled in side-by-side before flipping back on themselves and charging straight towards their pursuers- now a combined force of about eighteen Venomian fighters- railing against them with an endless torrent of fire, taking serious damage to the frontal bodies of their Arwings in the process. Meanwhile, Peppy had slipped away and careened down from above, raining down a plasmatic storm of fire and capping off with a brilliant throw of a smart bomb; this full-throttle assault quickly cut the squad down from a eighteen team strong, to three fleeting fighters.

"All aircraft, report!" Fox gasped as the dust settled and the three Star Fox pilots were finally able to catch their breath. Three Arwings listed lazily across the Zonessian sky above the sewage plant.

"This is Peppy. Took some nasty shots, but I'm still flyin'."

"Falco here. Damn scrubs got some good shots in, but mine were bettah."

"Slippy here. I-I'm fine."

Fox slumped back in his cockpit, brushing a free hand through his crewcut. "Man, that was nuts." He sighed aloud to himself.

Respite was called short, as a few blips suddenly flashed on Star Fox's radar systems. The three pilots rushed to prepare for another attack, whilst Slippy slowly readied his engines and prepared to join his fellows. The blips grew closer and closer until they were finally in sight and in-range; Star Fox readied their turrets when-

"Check fire, Star Fox! Hellfire Cats, rollin' in!"

"Yo, Star Fox dudes. Good to see you guys again."

"I woulda thought Aquas would've kept you guys busy for a bit longer than this. Too bad."

The three voices of the Hellfire Cats matched those of Croc Bridger and Johnny and Miyu Lynx. But there in lied a problem: Where were Katt and Felix?

"Looks like you guys showed up a little too late!" Falco snapped, a mix between typical arrogance and genuine frustration they hadn't arrived sooner.

"We've been tryin' to fly ah arses over here, ever since Felix sent the old gezza the info on this sewage plant. Hoped we could help you guys out, get closer to kickin' down Andross' doors. Kept runnin' into these jokers; barely managed to send out that warning."

"Didn't do much. We got jumped by Andross' goons anyway." Falco hissed, defiantly overwhelmed by the sudden fight against the attackers.

"Cool it down, Falco." Fox appealed to his comrade. "You guys may have shown up a little late, but thanks for the warning anyway. Where are Katt and Felix?"

"Katt and Felix? Damn. Looks like we all got separated out in the plains. I don't know where they could've got to, but if they're not on the radio, they could be in serious trouble!" Croc warned, a breakaway from his usual collected self.

"Alright then, we'll go lookin' for 'em. You guys stay here and help Slippy rig that sewage plant up." Fox concluded, rallying Falco and Peppy to him as they prepared to fly off into the unknown.

"Screw that, Star Fox!" Miyu of the Hellfire Cats cried as her flight-mates retired to the rig. "Stayin' here will be boring! I'm goin' with you guys!"

"Now ain't the time to get antsy, Miyu. Besides, if more of Andross' boys show up we're gonna need all the help we can get, if Star Fox got caught off-guard by these jokers." Croc issued, his voice slowly toning back down to his regular cool grumble.

"Yo, Miyu… S'okay, dudette. Fox and his friends, like, they can handle themselves… and Katt and Felix, they'll be fine once the Star Fox guys catch up with them… Ya know?" Johnny mumbled his calming whistling-like voice.

Miyu scrunched her face up in disgust, with a little wounded pride in there too. "Fine, let's sit around on our asses and wait for Katt and Felix to turn up!" Despite her attitude and thoughts on the situation, ultimately- in her heart of hearts- Miyu knew that Croc and Johnny were right; Katt and Felix could look after themselves (they were experienced hot-rodders after all), and the Star Fox Team would soon catch up with them even if they were on the defensive.

"Ready, guys?" Fox asked his co-pilots.

"On yer call, son." Peppy chimed.

"Let's go, Fox!" Falco boomed.

"Alright then; let's rock 'n' roll!"

The three Arwings then shot off to the north, headed out over a series of islands, before disappearing from sight in the search for the missing Hellfire Cats. Meanwhile, Croc, Miyu and Johnny landed on the rig and joined up with Slippy to set up more explosives. Despite a good stock, Slippy would need a _hell-_ of-a-lot more to even hope of sinking the sewage plant. Croc and Johnny set to work, searching for the structural weak-points all over the rig for Slippy to set up the bombs, whilst Miyu- bummed-out and still antsy over staying- sat at the airpads, watching the skies from an anti-aircraft cannon for any Venomian fighters.

Meanwhile, the three remaining Star Fox pilots headed north, charging cleanly over islands, across the blackened seas and out of the reach of the spotlights, the acid rain constantly battering their shields. As they searched for the Hellfire Cats, the fleeting fighters from the tankers had returned, and suddenly Star Fox realised just how many they had actually missed; what they thought was a team of five or six pilots who slipped away from the sewage rig was actually a full platoon of thirty-seven fighters, three of which were the final ones to run.

"Holy-" Falco exclaimed in awe of the swarm of starfighters that blotted out the sky like a plague of locust.

"Looks like we missed a few from that surprise attack…" Peppy gasped.

Despite the situation, Fox of all people was the first to snap himself back to action. "Focus, guys! We need to shake these fighters and find Katt and Felix, fast! Are you two with me?"

"Through it all, son!"

"Hell yeah!"

With this powerful boast, the three set off at full speed, boosting straight ahead and scattering the encroaching fighters from a haze of thirty-seven metallic wasp-like bodies, into pocketed swarms of a dozen or so. Before the platoon could regroup, however, the Arwings sharply pulled back and corkscrewed back to face the broken line, quickly erupting into a fiery assault. Engines on the Venomian fighters were pelleted with laser that quickly pulled into the exhausts and blew pockets of enemy ships to pieces; within mere minutes, the thirty-seven fighter platoon had lost about nine pilots to an explosive end this way. The untouched attack force rallied together, ready to strike back.

With the horde of Venomian fighters poised to charge, the skies of Zoness lit up like a bonfire; slipstreams from engines pierced the air, bolts of laser and plasma cut across the open fields, fighters exploded into balls of chaotic balls of shrapnel and burning smoke, metal birds dove down and charged up in everlasting loops of unbridled hatred and predatory instinct. This almost barely resembled a battle; more like a successful hunt in the wild.

After an hour or so of endless tossing and turning, the Star Fox Team set their Arwings down on a small island, barely managing to land safely on the soft sand. All three of them gasped and sighed, the stresses of the dogfight having filled them with adrenaline that coursed throughout their bodies and overwhelmed them with dopamine fits. As they caught their breath, each of them looked towards the sky, a colossal ball of smoke and dying fires blotting out the sky overhead. Sweat stained their fur and clothes, dripping down and filling the three pilots with a sense of exhaustion and anxiety… did they get them all? Were there any enemies left?

As they watched and huffed and shook, suddenly plumes of smoke emerged from the gaseous bubble; Fox managed to count five, Falco saw six, and Peppy recognised nine. At least five Venomian fighters had survived the onslaught, or at most, nine had emerged unscathed… and ready to continue the attack, as the fighters swiftly swooped down towards Star Fox's resting point. **Fast**. Within mere moments, the fighters had closed the gap between them and their target, cutting it in half and were plummeting towards the seas at ever-increasing velocities. Turret fire rallied down, splattering into the water below and splashing the waves, the casings steadily rising closer and closer towards Star Fox. Just as the shots began to reach the shores of the island, the Arwings suddenly roared back into action, each fighter taking to the skies in an instant and resuming the battle as if they had never stopped to rest.

Peppy managed to down three fighters himself, pulling them out into open waters before somersaulting over them and systematically blasting each one from behind, instantly rupturing their engines and sending them tumbling to a watery grave. Falco was up next, taunting four fighters over the radio and weaving in and out of the still dispersing smoke-cloud from the prior battle. In the midst of the fog, Falco bobbed and bounced around like a frog on a lily-pad, pulling in his quarry deeper; the Venomians were careful to follow him at a distance, and to keep themselves distanced so they could cover more ground. Knowing he had to emerge at some point, the four attackers continued through the cloud and burst free at all angles, quickly roaming around the gradually thinning ball of smoke in the hopes of finding their prey; they even dove their wings into the ball to pull the smoke apart and divide it even quicker. After their fifth lap of the smoke cloud, however, the four fighters realised their mistake too little, too late; they had lost Falco within the smoke cloud, and he had in fact escaped before the ball became too small and thin to conceal the fighters any longer. Hiding far above, Falco swiftly began his descent, diving down at full speed and cutting his enemies down, top to bottom. As his Arwing zoomed passed them, each fighter ruptured and scattered into debris that hit the waves below with a triumphant _**WHOOSH!**_ and _**SPLASH!**_ **f** or each piece that crashed into its watery rest. Fox took on the last two fighters with relative ease; one was foolish enough to follow him too close to the waters and crashed under a rogue wave, consumed by the watery wall. The other chased after the vulpine in a classic dogfight around the skies, each fighter ducking and diving, weaving and bobbing as they rushed after one another to get their best shot, before Fox managed to catapult him into a lone island with a bait-and-switch move, silently letting a smart bomb go before sharply looping over his enemy, awaiting their inevitable collision with the bomb, resulting in a burning shower glistening over the waters.

Star Fox continued on northbound towards the last known location of Katt and Felix, still fitting and twitching from their dogfight as the adrenaline rushed through their veins. Over the course of a few hours, they had come under surprise attack from eight diving tankers, each containing ten Venomian fighters ready to launch, and then outmanoeuvred a sizable section of an eighty-man attack force… before snuffing out the surviving forty-odd stragglers that pulled away without the mercenaries noticing. Even as three hours passed, all three pilots had yet to settle from the chaos.

After another three or so hours, Star Fox stumbled upon a new discovery far in the north where the toxic rains grew into thunderous storms that shook the waves into giant cataclysmic tidal walls of poisoned water; the rain crashed and crackled down from the storm clouds with such ferocity and devastation that Star Fox's Arwings could no longer brush off the constant weathering damage, with their armour plating now forced to take the full brunt of the falling acid. And yet these corrosive typhoons and sudden storms were just the first in the discoveries in the north; ahead of them lay a large steel basin, built submerged on the seas. Spotlights dotted the upper rim of the basin, beaming great flashes of light out into the oceans like daggers sunk into the carcass of the reviled. And within the basin's arcing walls, was a rotary door mechanism which periodically opened with a twist of the cogs to unleash yet more toxic slime and refuse into the seas of Zoness.

"By the stars…" Peppy gasped in horror. "It's no wonder these storms have gotten worse the further north we've come… Andross, you damn fool… what have you done to this place?" There was such a great sadness in Peppy's voice that it quickly became obvious that he could barely hold back his emotional turmoil. He was angry, infuriated that so much damage could be caused- and by one man, no less- but the devastation and heartbreak of the situation reduced his anger to overwhelming sorrow.

Luckily, Peppy's teammate was able to capitalise on his own anger, and act.

"I'm gonna get that bastard if it's the last thing I do!" Falco howled in anguished wrath and furious woe, diving straight towards the flooding gates and firing green bolts at the mechanisms that held the gates aloft. Each Needler shell from Falco's Arwing cut through the great wires until the cable finally snapped with a vicious crackle, slamming the gates down sharply and sealing the toxic waste back within the basin. Just as the gate smashed down upon the water, all of the spotlights focused in on the destroyed exhaust as the three Arwings rushed forward, suddenly triggering a loud alarm that echoed for miles. The pilots pulled up sharply as the crashing gates sent forth a rogue wave that almost eclipsed the basin from their view, even as they climbed into the skies.

"Watch yerself, Falco! A stunt like that could get you killed!" Peppy warned, only for Falco to respond with a disgruntled sneer.

Before they could lead any new assault, however, a fleet of ten tankers erupted from below the seas, and suddenly Star Fox found themselves at the mercy of almost a hundred anti-aircraft cannons shooting boulders of plasma into the skies. Each pilot scattered across their playing field, even swooping down beneath the tankers, out of their cannon fire. As he skated along the choppy seas, Falco riddled the hulls of a tanker with all the firepower his Arwing could dish out, unleashing all his smart bombs and ripping through the hull with hundreds of Needler shots within about ten minutes. As he withdrew, the ace pilot was shocked to discover his assault had only produced a small breach in the hull, and not enough to start taking on water.

"Crap!" he squawked. "These tankers are tough!"

Fox sighed at his co-pilot's lack of foresight. "What made you think you could take a _diving_ tanker, Falco?"

"Shoot anything with enough firepower, and you're gonna punch through eventually!"

"Focus, boys!" Peppy barked, silencing the pair and alerting them to incoming fighters on their radar scanners. "We've got company, inbound!"

As the three scrambled and swooped around the tankers with the intruders coming ever closer, the three pondered how- or perhaps _if_ was the better term- they would come out of this one. Luckily, the mysterious fighters were no enemies of the Star Fox Team, as they immediately rushed to their aid, attacking the tankers from all angles.

"Looks like we're a little late to the party, Felix." a coy voice whispered over communications. "You boys have a bad habit of starting fun without me!" It was Katt! (And Felix).

"Well, you guys started this one without us, so I think we're about even!" Fox jested, before shifting tones to serious, "In all seriousness, though, it's good to see you guys are alright. The others are back at the rig to the south with Slippy."

"Took your sweet time gettin' stuck in, Katt!" Falco chided.

"This that any way to greet a lady friend?" Katt cooed.

Felix cut in rather harshly, "You know Falco; cold and too cool to be nice."

"Shut it, Felix!"

"Easy, you two!" Peppy barked as he swooped around the backend of a tanker and into the skies. "We'll have a much easier time takin' down these tankers if the pair of you can focus on Andross' goons instead of each other for one second!"

In agreement, the two heated pilots swung by each other and shot towards the tanker that Falco had previously damaged, aiming their sights at the tanker's hull, but just a little below the water line, peppering the area with as much fire as possible, whilst Fox and Peppy teamed with Katt to rupture another tanker along the waves. Despite their differences, Falco and Felix made for an effective assault team, cracking through their target's armour with continuous fire and slowly flooding the tanker with toxic waters, forcing the tanker under as the seas began to drag the craft below the choppy waves. Meanwhile, Fox, Katt and Peppy slammed their chosen target with fire upon the top decking, gradually cutting away at the armour and even rupturing a lookout post close to the rear. With such a structural weak-point, Katt swung in fast, readying her hand over her triggers; when the timing was right, she unleashed a smart bomb, which narrowly slipped down, crashing into the inside walls before exploding prematurely and casting a large smoke-and-fire cloud up and out before Katt could slip away properly. She billowed through the smoke and raced to the skies, her Invader/II fighter taking on fire as she screwed and dived around, trying to use the rushing air and continuous rainfall to douse the flames before they could damage her ship.

With this team-up, Star Fox and the Hellfire Cats had downed two tankers within about half an hour, but the remaining tankers did something the flight team weren't expecting: they began to dive. As the pilots rushed around to get as many shots in as possible before the tankers were finally submerged, they couldn't help but think simply: Why? Why dive below the surface, especially now? Two tankers may have been destroyed, but the remaining eight were still functional, and still outnumbered the flying starfighters. So why the retreat?

Within just a few moments, however, they discovered why.

"Jeez Laweez! What the hell is that!?" Falco squawked as the waves suddenly swirled around and crashed.

"Watch out! Somethin's comin' up!" Peppy cried. True to his word, something was rising from below the seas, and it was… the eight tankers? But among them, a larger construction rig armed with a crane and twin chainball launchers.

"Well now…" a disgruntled voice rattled over the radio, "Look what disreputable whelps have come to ruin Andross' new age! I- Cap'in Silverbeard, of the Androssian Navy- will show ye some respect! All tankers, proceed with fusion!" Suddenly, the tankers slid together and clamped against the rig, transforming it from a simple diving rig into an eight-armed battleship. "This be the Sarumarine, and it shall be yer deaths! Aghr ha ha ha aghr!"

"Now this is getting interestin'!" Falco yelled, charging at the machine as eighty cannons bombarded him with plasma shots. Luckily, Falco was quick enough to zip around the shots and swing down towards the decking of the "Sarumarine".

Soon, Fox, Felix, Katt and Peppy were following after Falco, dodging and diving around the main rig, laying into the eight legs with everything they throw, from their main cannons to smart bombs. Even with such a barrage of firepower, the eight-armed Sarumarine still remained afloat, as holes ruptured along just three of the tankers and the main rig stood strong as the acid storms continued to batter the Star Fox/ Hellfire Cats team and the Venomian vessel. As the flight team pulled up into the air, the twin chainballs rocketed after them, striking at their flightpaths and forcing them to evade. With the successful disruption, Silverbeard let out another hearty cackle as the balls slowly crashed back into the seas and were pulled back in. For this taunt, he was rewarded when Falco swung in sharply and blasted the fusion point on one of the tankers, slowly forcing it to detach and break away from the main body.

"Argh, shite!" Silverbeard shouted as the detached tanker slowly began to sink. "Drop the crane over that tanker! Now!" Without a moment's notice, the crane swung around to the sinking tanker and dropped down to the water, crashing into the surface and causing a nasty splash that almost drowned Falco's Arwing. Before the flight team could retaliate properly, the crane had successfully recovered the detached tanker and brought it back into attacking position, but kept it detached from the Sarumarine.

"Fox, we need to take out that crane!" Peppy warned, swinging down upon the main rig as Fox followed in behind him.

The two pilots unleashed hellfire upon the crane, slowly cutting through its stem and soon causing its whole head to snap loose and collapse upon the waves. This elicited another "Argh, shite!" from Captain Silverbeard, who ordered the twin chainballs fired again after Fox and Peppy. Before they could connect, however, the two Arwings suddenly bolted outwards from each other, easily avoiding the chainballs which slammed back into waters harmlessly. As the tanker arms continued to send cannonballs up into the skies, all crew members of the Venomian vessel failed to realise that Falco, Katt and Felix were slipping between each tanker and raining down all of the fusion points with every bit of firepower they could muster. After their assault, the three cheered as another two tankers broke away from the Sarumarine and the damaged ones finally took on too much water and began to sink. With six out of the eight tankers now out of action, this left the Sarumarine with just two arms left and the main rig.

"Fire, dammit! FIRE!" Silverbeard bellowed, as the remaining armaments set the skies ablaze with everything they had; cannonballs, the chainballs, even missiles launched from the main rig's underbelly. While most of the shots missed, a couple made contact; Felix was downed and plummeted to the waters (crashing abruptly on the surface and bobbing along the waves for a time), whilst Fox's Arwing suffered a heavily crushed wing from a chainball, which slowly tried to pull him from the sky into the water. The young vulpine counteracted this by pulling strongly away from the waves as the chainball pulled him down, slowly breaking the chainball's spiked grip from his fighter. Peppy also took a bad knock to the underside of his Arwing from a cannonball, causing a massive crater in his Arwing's armour plating and making his flight-ride particularly uncomfortable. With only Falco and Katt left flying smoothly, the duo paired up and began their swift assault on the Sarumarine's arms, quickly puncturing the tankers and flooding them with water, whilst simultaneously detaching them from the main body. Within moments, the tankers sank below the choppy waves, and vanished beneath the blackened seas, as if sucked into an endless void.

"Just the main rig left now, Falco. We make a good team!" Katt cooed as she swung up and back down for a final assault.

"This ain't nothin' permanent, Katt!" Falco squawked as he swung around to join her. Despite his tone, Falco was thrilled that Katt had changed so much as a pilot, almost on the same level as Falco. _Almost_ , he'd tell himself. Before they could begin their final attack, however, the Sarumarine focued all its munitions on Katt's Invader/II. "Wait, Katt! Look out!"

"OPEN FIRE!" Silverbeard howled, as the chainballs flung into the air, smashing straight through the Invader/II's wings and sending Katt plummeting into the waves. "Aghr ha ha ha aghr! Four varmints done with, now just one left! Say ye prayers, whelp, for ye face the might of the Sarumarine! AGHR HA HA HA AGHR!" With this final triumphant cackle, Silverbeard recalled the chainballs and fired them up into the skies straight at Falco.

But the Star Fox ace wasn't so easily tagged. "Think again, old geezer!" He corkscrewed his Arwing between the twin spheres and charged down towards the bridge of the Sarumarine, firing against the glass panes with his ship's Needler cannons, cutting through the decking with ease. Ceasing his spin, Falco swung back towards the chainballs and fired his power cord from the rear, looping it around the links and pulling the twin shots together catapulting the Arwing back towards the Sarumarine at top speed.

"Heh he heh…" Silverbeard cackled between coughs as the rain splashed against his face with minor burning. "Not a bad move, boy!" he bellowed over a loudspeaker, "But I still be in control!" he then recalled the balls with Falco still flying straight towards the bridge.

"You want your chainballs back? Here, have 'em!" Falco suddenly pulled up just before slamming into the bridge, releasing his power cord and letting the chainballs careen straight for the bridge.

Silverbeard let out one last heart chuckle as he realised his mistake; recalling the balls only made them return faster, and their collision course with the bridge was now inevitable. "Clever little bastard… At least, I'll go down with my ship and crew…" The old captain's words seemed rather sombre and wizened, only to be countered with one final roar "ARGGGHHH!" as the balls smashed against the bridge violently, crushing Silverbeard within and disabling the Sarumarine for good.

With the Sarumarine left adrift, Falco and Fox (now fighting for control of his Arwing) radioed in to the other pilots left back in the south, calling for immediate regroup. With the battle over, the dumping station issued a surrendering order and ceased dumping, as Fox and Falco began to pull their comrades from the oceans towards nearby land.

Resting there, the fighters began their debriefing:

"All aircraft report!" Fox commanded both his Star Fox Team and the Hellfire Cats.

"This here is Peppy! Took a sharp kick to the backside, but it'll buff out!"

"Falco here. Nothin' a little elbow grease ain't gonna fix!"

"Felix here. My engines are busted. Sorry to say, but I'm outta the race for now."

"This is Katt. Lost my wings, but that won't stop me now."

As they rested, their fellows- Slippy, Croc, Johnny and Miyu- swiftly made their approach, calling in to check on their damaged crewmates.

As the Hellfire Cats scooped up Katt and Felix, the leader called out, "This was fun, boys! We need to do this again!"

Fox smiled, "Maybe once Andross is defeated, Katt!"

However, Falco simply scoffed, "Another time, Katt. Now get outta here!"

"Come now, Falco. That ain't no way to thank yer lil' sweetheart." Peppy teasingly chuckled.

"She ain't my sweetheart, old timer!" Falco squawked as Slippy secured Fox's Arwing and pulled him towards the skies. With Peppy and Falco's Arwings the least damaged, the pair flew off under their own steam.

"Yeah, Peppy!" Slippy exclaimed rather excitedly. "Falco's too cool to have a sweetheart. She's his girlfriend!"

This almost enraged the bird. "You're lucky you're taking Fox home, otherwise it'd be _**you**_ going for a swim, Slippy!"

And with that, the Star Fox Team- whilst battered and brusied- made their way back to the _Great Fox_ and headed towards their final destination: Planet Venom…

 _Meanwhile…_

"Lord Andross!" a custodian raced across the mogul's throne room, with Star Wolf standing guard at his feet.

"What is it?" the tyrant growled gravelly.

"We've just received updates since the fall of the Vulcain Project: the Spyborg in Sector X has been destroyed, t-the revived Goramorph on Titania has been slain, our munitions factory on Macbeth- along with the Forever Train and our prototype weapon the Mechbeth- have all been destroyed, our mutant Bacoon one Aquas was killed, and now, our exhaustion factories on Zoness have been breached, w-with Captain Silverbeard and his prized Sarumarine fleet of tankers sunk! A-and now, the Star Fox mothership is on the way here!"

"Calm yourself, custodian." Andross spoke in a calm and collected manner whilst sitting slouched in his throne. "Where is the _Great Fox_ now, custodian?"

"Scout reports indicate it is closing in on the Sector Z restriction zone as we speak!"

Andross bore a sudden sinister smile. "Send word to Captain Chamille: halt the _Great Fox_ in the restriction zone. Go now."

"Y-Yes sir!" the custodian left swiftly, quickly vanishing just as soon as he had appeared before Andross' grace.

Wolf let out an amused chuckle from the shadows. "You really think that Chamille will be able to stop McCloud and his boys? You send me and my crew back into the field-"

"I have made my choice, O'Donnell. You and your team shall defend the palace. And besides, Silverbeard would not have let them leave Zoness without some battle scars. They are weakened…"

The mad mogul let out a menacing laugh which suddenly evolved into a diabolical laughter that echoed throughout the halls of his Venomian castle…


End file.
